So, heres how it works in practice: Judges terms run from November to November. This is done to coincide with elections. When a judge is preparing for retirement, the ordinary course of events is to announce the retirement and prepare for a successor, whether by appointment or election. Ordinarily, this will be announced in a little blurb on page 6, down in the bottom mash, and a statement in the Daily Record a few months before. (Speaking of the daily record, Judge Jan Alexander of the Baltimore County Circuit Court once told me that he was very impressed with my legal skills and he was looking forward to reading about my accomplishments in the Daily Record. While it was the highest praise, I am afraid that I may disappoint His Honor. If my name shows up in the Daily Record, it will be because of the changes I am making TO the legal profession, not because of it. But I hope he will be proud of me, nonetheless.) Thats the ordinary course of events. But on August 27, 2013, just as the Maryland Commission on Child Custody Decision Making was ramping up and the legislature began poking into all child custody decisions made withing the last two years, the Chief Administrative Judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit (Baltimore and Harford Counties), Judge John Grason Turnbull II, suddenly retired and Her Honor, Judge Kathleen Cox, was appointed to the position the same day. Announcement of the retirement and appointment was not made until September, in a small blurb in the bottom mash of the Daily Record. I asked a State Delegate who serves in the 3rd Judicial Circuit why Judge Turnbull suddenly retired and why it was done with such secrecy. The timing, I said, seemed weird. Understandably, my question received a no comment. But the silence speaks volumes. The day that she was appointed, Judge Cox took possession of my domestic violence/divorce/custody case and, after a procession of no less than five other Judges who I suspect, but have not have not yet proven, benefited from the alleged corruption in this case, is the only Judge now handling the case. And I have been warned to tread carefully, which I am doing. But I have to balance treading carefully for my own good with transparent disclosure. I recognize that there will be some blowback from revealing what I am about to reveal. I recognize that I may lose some friends in the legal profession and that Im about to step on some political toes. But this is important stuff that you need to know before you head to the polls. You will be asked to vote for local and circuit judges. Most of us, unless we have had experience with the courts or been the object of litigation, dont really pay attention and just vote for whoever. Its very important to me, to my son, and to my family that you think carefully about how your vote, for any political office, affects the Judiciary. Your vote is not just for the folks who MAKE the laws, its for the folks who INTERPRET them. For that is what a judge is....an interpreter of law. Any Judge who interprets any law and decides any case so as to personally benefit from the outcome, does not belong on the bench.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:08:33 +0000
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