Judicial Elections Bill Stalled In Committees

Judicial elections bill stalled in committees

A group of black lawmakers appears to have blocked Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's effort to end voters' ability to choose Circuit Court judges.

Gansler's proposal, which aimed to replace contested elections with retention elections every 10 years, is languishing in key committees in the House of Delegates and the Senate. The chairmen of both said Monday that the Legislative Black Caucus' strong opposition has doomed Gansler's bill.

"That spelled its demise," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, who does not plan to forward the legislation to the full Senate.

Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., a Prince George's and Calvert County Democrat who leads the House Judiciary Committee, said he would not bring the proposal up for a vote because "there's just not support for it."

If lawmakers do change course and approve the plan in the final two weeks of the legislative session, it would be put before voters this fall because it involves a change to the Maryland Constitution.

Currently, the governor appoints Circuit Court judges, who preside over jury trials. To win their full 15-year terms, their names must appear on the ballot for the next general election. Attorneys practicing for more than five years can also run in those elections.

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