The Judicial Nominating Commissions select and nominate to the Governor persons found by the Commission to be legally and most fully professionally qualified to fill a vacancy. The table includes all current vacancies. Once the close date to a vacancy passes, the names of all applicants will be listed. The public is encouraged to participate in the selection process by submitting written and signed comments concerning the qualifications of an applicant to The Judicial Nominating Commission, c/o The Administrative Office of the Courts, Program Services, 2001-D Commerce Park Drive, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. The comments must be received at least one week prior to the commission meeting date shown in the table below.
The Nominating Commission meets to interview all candidates. Thereafter a voting session takes place and the names of nominees are reported to the Governor. This usually occurs the same day or morning after the Commission meets. As soon as the names have been reported to the Governor this chart is updated to reflect the names of those nominated to a vacancy.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this table. Please recognize, however, that this list does not constitute official notification of individuals nominated for, or appointed to, a judicial vacancy. Rather, the official list of candidates for a vacancy is compiled by the Administrative Office of the Courts and sent to the Governor's Office. The Governor's Office officially notifies the appointed individual and releases an official notice to the public. When an appointment to a vacancy is announced by the Governor's Office, the name is highlighted in red.
The Nominating Commission meets to interview all candidates. Thereafter a voting session takes place and the names of nominees are reported to the Governor. This usually occurs the same day or morning after the Commission meets. As soon as the names have been reported to the Governor this chart is updated to reflect the names of those nominated to a vacancy.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this table. Please recognize, however, that this list does not constitute official notification of individuals nominated for, or appointed to, a judicial vacancy. Rather, the official list of candidates for a vacancy is compiled by the Administrative Office of the Courts and sent to the Governor's Office. The Governor's Office officially notifies the appointed individual and releases an official notice to the public. When an appointment to a vacancy is announced by the Governor's Office, the name is highlighted in red.
| COURT | REASON FOR VACANCY | CLOSE DATE 4:30 p.m. | APPLICANTS **Pool* | COMM. MTG | NOMINATIONS Appointed**Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court for Worcester County | Retirement of the Honorable Theodore R. Eschenburg | 8/11/10 | Cheryl Kelley Jacobs Mary Margaret Kent Brian Daniel Shockley Regan James Reno Smith Kathryn Vivian Westbrook | 9/28/10 | Mary Margaret Kent Brian Daniel Shockley Regan James Reno Smith Kathryn Vivian Westbrook |
| Court of Special Appeals-for 6th Appellate Circuit-Baltimore City | Retirement of the Honorable Arrie W. Davis | 9/21/10 | Honorable Audrey J. S. Carrion Honorable Shirley M. Watts Honorable Pamela Janice White | 11/16/10 | |
| Circuit Court for Wicomico County | Retirement of the Honorable Donald C. Davis | 10/18/10 | Melvin Joseph Caldwell, Jr. Angela Beth DiPietro Cynthia Brubaker MacDonald Leah Jane Seaton Stephen Mark Tilghman | 12/14/10 | |
| *Individuals whose names were submitted to the Governor for a judicial vacancy but who were not appointed become part of a pool that will be considered automatically for each vacancy on the same court occurring within two years after submission of the initial list. | |||||
12 comments:
Interesting list for Wicomico County Three women. Not too sure if any governor would want two out of our three judges to be women for fear of alienating all the men voters who are used to the status quo. Not saying its wrong to have 2 out of 3 judges women but lets face reality.
I know most of these applicants and a few of them are total jokes as far as being truly qualified to be a circuit court judge. District Court, maybe a stretch, but definately not circuit court.
What I want to know is which are democrats and which are republicans. If any of them are repubs, they can forget it if Erhlich loses.
I know Seaton is now working as the juvenile judge so maybe she would be the favorite? who knows.
Not Leah Seaton! I have sat in juvenile court watching her,and she is horrible, overbearing, uninformed,bullying, and slow-witted.
Ms. Seaton is clearly the pick of the litter.
Mark Tilghman and his wife support Seth Mitchell -- bad move.
This is the weakest list of judicial candidates that I've ever seen. I hope the Governor sends it back for additional names.
Horrible List! Where are the good older lawyers, but keep in mind that the Court House is run by low level people and the pay is poor.
Never heard of some of these.Where are ones like Johnny Long, Russ Dashield, etc. Not liberal enough ?
Caldwell is a republican, he is out!. Tilghman has not been seen in a court room in years, and these judges primary job is criminal trials. Lea Seaton has been missing in action for a while for health reasons and when she is there its a circus which was the same when she was a mva judge. The two candidates with the most criminal trial expierience who also have civil expierience is DiPietro and Macdonald. Who cares if there is two women on the bench. I want someone who can do the job most effieciently and will be around for a while and not retire in ten years or have to retire becuase of medical issues.
Please not MJ Caldwell!!!!!!
God help Wicomico County if Leah Seaton is promoted to full-fledged judge. While it's obvious she may be book-smart, her demeanor in the courtroom is erratic at best. She's all over the place - literally and figuratively. Can someone explain why she sat at a table on the courtroom floor and not on the bench? How will she be able to effectively address criminals when she's sitting right next to them? As for MJ, at least no one would be able to see him scratching himself behind the cover of the judge's bench. And now that Mark Tilghman's wife has publically allied herself with Seth Mitchell, that should tell you where he is - and where he shouldn't be - if he wants a legitimate run at the judge's bench. Judge's shouldn't be endorsing anyone, especially someone that will be in their courtroom on a regular basis. They're supposed to be impartial. So that leaves DiPietro and MacDonald. Out of the two, MacDonald has the best "judicial" temperament. Either would be a better choice over the other three.
6:17 --
Mr. Long is no longer working, and he is now trying to get Ollinger elected as County Exec. to get rid of Pollitt.
The person who posted at 9:54 pm seems to imply that he or she knows a great deal about all of the candidates for the Circuit Court judgeship, yet he or she said --
"And now that Mark Tilghman's wife has publically allied herself with Seth Mitchell, that should tell you where he is - and where he shouldn't be - if he wants a legitimate run at the judge's bench."
If the 9:54 poster is a lawyer, he or she would clearly benefit from reeducation in English writing. The parenthetical offset by dashes in the attempt at a sentence quoted above is grammatically inapposite to the concept that precedes it, rendering the comment confusing and technically devoid of the meaning that its the poster seems to intend.
Additionally, I do not understand how a person's candidacy for a judgeship is undermined by his, much less by his spouse's, support for a candidate for state's attorney who he or his spouse thinks will effectively and fairly execute the duties of that most important office. No decent person, as a judge, would show favoritism toward the state or toward a criminal defendant because of his level of affection for the lawyer representing either party. Anyone who thinks that Mark Tilghman would do that does not know him well. He is idealistically obsessed with the rule of law and impartial administration of justice, and he has no other political inclination that is nearly as strong as that obsession.
Leah Seaton is, by far, the most qualified candidate.
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