![]() ![]() “On the circuit court, we are losing some very qualified individuals,” she added, contending that this situation arises from some attorneys being unwilling to subject themselves and their families to the rough and tumble of a process that may involve contested elections. But we’re also going to hear testimony from some district court judges who are going to say ‘Here’s the reason why I’m not going to apply to circuit court’,” Dumais, a former vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said in an interview. “At the public hearing, we’ll certainly hear some testimony as to why we ought to maintain elections. Prior to being appointed a circuit court judge late last year - and subsequently elected to a 15-year term earlier this month - Dumais spent nearly two decades in the House of Delegates, where she advocated for getting rid of judicial elections. ![]() (The hearing will be livestreamed, and those wishing to present their views can sign up to do so in-person or via Zoom by emailing ) at the Maryland Judicial Center, 187 Harry S. Prior to those deliberations, the workgroup has scheduled a public hearing next Monday, Nov. The workgroup will soon shift to deliberating on recommendations to be forwarded to the General Assembly in early 2023 on how the state’s judicial selection process - for appellate and district court judges as well as those serving on circuit courts - might be modified. ![]() District Court Judge Alexander Williams, and consisting of judges, attorneys and several non-lawyers representing several advocacy groups - has held three information-gathering sessions since its creation last summer, focusing on how judges both in Maryland and other states are now chosen. The workgroup - co-chaired by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Dumais and retired U.S. West appeared before the 21-member temporary panel - formally titled the Legislative Committee of the Maryland Judicial Council/Workgroup to Study Judicial Selection - to pitch a compromise proposal he has pushed during recent sessions of the General Assembly. “The issue of election of circuit court judges has been the subject of serious deliberation for 54 years by my counting,” West told a Maryland Judiciary workgroup last week, while wryly observing - quoting the late Yogi Berra - “I get the distinct feeling of déjà vu all over again.” While West’s side won the high school match, the constitutional amendment was rejected by the voters that year - and legislative debate over the issue has continued since, without resolution. Christopher West (R-Baltimore County) was assigned to argue in favor of a proposed state constitutional amendment that, among other things, would have done away with competitive elections as the means of choosing judges for Maryland’s circuit courts. As a member of his high school’s debating team in 1968, Sen. ![]()
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