Bulman Dunie Supports Retaining Montgomery County Sitting Judges

2022

As Montgomery County voters mark their ballots this summer, you will see “Circuit Court Judge, Pick 4” towards the bottom of your ballot. By the time you get to the bottom of the ballot, you may be suffering from “ballot fatigue”.

Although our firm strays from political activism, this is a non-partisan election. And for reasons we will explain, we strongly encourage you to vote to retain:

Judge Carlos Acosta
Judge Theresa Chernosky
Judge Kathleen Dumais
Judge Rachel McGuckian

Why do Maryland Circuit Court judges have to run for election?

Not all Maryland judges have to run for election. Only judges on the Circuit Court—the court which handles large civil claims, felony criminal matters, and domestic matters, must run for election. Once a Circuit Court judge is appointed by the Governor, their initial term runs until the next Congressional election. The Circuit Court judge must then run to retain their seat. What differentiates the Circuit Court from other Maryland courts is that any Maryland attorney can challenge a sitting Circuit Court judge.

What is the term of a Circuit Court judge?

A Circuit Court judge is elected to a 15-year term. This is the longest elected term of any political office in Maryland. Hence, the consequences of electing an unqualified judge can be long-lasting and profound.

What differentiates the sitting Circuit Court judges from their challengers?

Lengthy and extensive vetting.

The sitting Circuit Court judges were appointed by the Governor following an exhaustive vetting process.

The vetting process starts with each applicant for the judge completing a 40-question application. The application asks for every detail of a candidate’s personal and professional life.

After the judicial applicant completes the application, they then are vetted by the local Bar Association (Bulman Dunie partners Dan Shaivitz, Esq. and Jeremy Rachlin, Esq. both sit on the Montgomery County Bar’s Judicial Nominations Committee). The applicant is also vetted by specialty Bar Associations, such as the Women’s Bar Association, the Sobeloff Law Society, the J. Franklyn Bourne Society, and others. This is frequently referred to as “running the gauntlet”. Each local and specialty Association reviews the questionnaire, interviews the candidate, and contacts references.

After the applicant runs the gauntlet, each of the initial interviewing panels submits their endorsements to the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission. This non-partisan Commission is comprised of a mix of attorneys and non-attorneys. This Commission considers the local associations’ endorsements and performs its own vetting and interview process. Ultimately, the Commission passes on a list of nominees to the Governor. These nominees are the most highly qualified of the judicial applicants.

The Governor and his Legal Counsel personally interview the Commission nominees. Following these interviews, the Governor appoints a Circuit Court judge. While the Governor is not bound to appoint a nominee from the Commission, historically, this has always been the practice.

The vetting process is lengthy. It is exhausting. It is humbling. And it ensures that the best of the best become Circuit Court judges.

Those challenging our Sitting Judges this year have not been nominated by the Commission, nor have they been endorsed by the Montgomery County Bar Association.

What are the basic qualifications of the challengers who are seeking to unseat the sitting Circuit Court judges?

The challenger must meet the meager qualifications of living in the State of Maryland, being a licensed attorney over the age of 30, and must pay a $50 filing fee.

The challenger completely circumvents the vetting process. In other words, a challenger who meets only the most startlingly basic qualifications can unseat a sitting judge who has been comprehensively vetted and determined by the non-partisan Trial Courts Nominating Commission to be the most highly qualified of judicial applicants.

Why is this a problem?

Well, aside from the potential of an unqualified individual who chooses to circumvent the vetting process winning a 15-year term on the Circuit Court bench, voters often have no idea who the sitting judges are. The names of all candidates—both the sitting judges and the challengers—simply appear in alphabetical order on the ballot. There is no designation “Judge” before those who are running to retain their seat. Most voters have no idea who the sitting judges are and how critically important this race is.

But it goes deeper than that. As attorneys, we at Bulman Dunie want our clients’ matters to be heard and ruled upon by highly-qualified judges of character and accomplishment. We know that our sitting judges meet the mark.

Bulman Dunie endorses:

Judge Carlos Acosta
Judge Theresa Chernosky
Judge Kathleen Dumais
Judge Rachel McGuckian