Gansler: Stop electing judges

Claims change would strip politics from the process

By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer

Capital Gazette Communications

Published 12/29/09

Maryland's top prosecutor wants the state to stop electing its Circuit Court judges, claiming the current process politicizes the job and raises questions about impartiality.

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Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler proposed yesterday that Circuit Court judges, who are currently required to stand for election within two years of their appointment by the governor, spend 10 years on the bench before their name appears on a ballot.

And even after that, trial court judges should face only "retention" elections, like those faced by the state's appellate judges, to determine if they keep their jobs, he...

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Gansler - 2009-12-30 13:14:20

Gansler must go.

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indep endent - , - Karma: Neutral

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS - 2009-12-30 09:37:02

The current judicial recommendation commission is composed of members appointed by the very governor who will select appointments from a commission he already controls. The commission does not respond to public comments and neither does the governor, who has appointed his own father-in-law to the circuit court appointments commission. I have asked the governor and the commission chairperson to recommended or appointed for a Maryland judgeship, only those persons who will pledge in advance to accept no money or gifts from litigators or litigants. The governor has not responded, nor has the commission chair. Why not? The commission appears to be composed 100% of Maryland lawyers - who do not want to be barred from gifting judges. For more on tis, visit rbc-in-md3.blogspot.com

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RICHARD BALDWIN COOK - Cockeysville , MD - Karma: Neutral

Elections a bad idea. - 2009-12-30 07:02:01

Electing judges is a bad idea because it does politicize the process and brings money into the equation. Gansler is a prime example of the politicization of the judicial process. Even though he failed to meet the requirements of office, a judge ignored what the Constitutional requirement was and one naturally wonders if it was because of party affiliation.
Judges should be answerable to the people through the legislature. A bad judge or one that has stepped outside their constitutional authority should be swiftly removed by the legislature, without having to hear the whine of "What about Judicial Independence?" Judicial independence ends when a judge behaves badly or violates their oath of office. This is not to say a judge should be removed for using poor judgment. There is a difference in handing down a bad opinion and willfully subverting the constitution as so many judges do because they know there is no consequence.
Another problem we have today is that they don't teach the law, they teach judicial opinion, which has led our judiciary to believe it is the supreme branch of government. Once a couple of judges are removed for stepping outside their sphere of power I would bet that all others would take note and not do the same. This does not take away judicial independence but reasserts constitutional authority.

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David Kyle - Pasadena, MD - Karma: Good

Bad Idea - 2009-12-29 14:09:13

This is a bad idea. Ten years is too long for a bad judge to be allowed to unaccountable to the system they are supposed to be protecting. Leave it to the liberal left to try to circumvent the electorial process again and again. If at first you can't pack the ballot box try try again. We have seen the vetting process here in Annapolis and in the Obama administration. Neither one instills any confidence at all. Local papers could provide judicial nominees free space for pre-election candidate bios. With the internet, the argument that voters are uninformed about the judges is not valid and if that is a real argument, what are we supposed to do about the ignorant bvoters who vote not with their brain but with a different part of their anatomy?

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Kurt Riefner - Crownsville, Md - Karma: Excellent