Stamm Position Prevented Independent Voters

from Taking Part in Election of Judges

Senator Roy Dyson sponsored a bill which would allow the approximately 7,000 independent and unaffiliated voters to take part in the election for judges.  The bill passed the State Senate but failed in the House. As part of the effort to defeat the bill, judges of the circuit which includes St. Mary’s County responded to a letter seeking their input.  The following is the letter to the General Assembly sent by Judge Karen Abrams, and endorsed by Judge Mike Stamm.

Joseph F. Vallario, Jr.

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

The Maryland House of Delegates

Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Joe

Thank you for asking for our input on this bill.  Judge Missouri just sent an email to all of the judges of the Seventh Circuit (Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s) and, so far, everyone is opposed to it.   To elaborate on my and Judge Stamm’s positions, or thoughts are as follows:

1.  If this bill had been in place when I ran, I would not have been finished with the election at the end of the primaries.  It allowed me to get back to my job instead of continuing to campaign for another eight months.  My margin was such that having an opponent in the general election would have been pyrrhic.

2.  An additional concern of Judge Stamm’s is that this bill would mean revising his already established campaign strategy.  His goal is to concentrate on and win both primaries.  If this bill is deemed to be passable, it at least should not apply to this year’s election.

3.  I understand that there is a concern that particularly in the case where a judge wins both primaries, the declines are not given the opportunity to vote at all.  However the Court of Appeals has ruled (much to our amazement) that the judicial election, although called nonpartisan, is in fact, partisan in its structure, and that, if people wish to vote in the primary, it is incumbent upon them to register with one of the parties to do so.  If the goal is to reestablish the nonpartisan nature of judicial elections, then perhaps the primary itself should be eliminated.

4.  While realizing that all efforts at eliminating contested judicial elections over the years have failed, some acknowledgment should be paid to the fact that candidates who are not vetted and found qualified by their peers should not be able to mount a popularity contest to unseat a sitting judge who has been deemed to be qualified and given up his or her prior employment to accept a judgeship.

Again, thank you for your attention to this matter.  If you have a questions, please feel free to contact me.

Karen H. Abramstc "Senator Roy Dyson sponsored a bill which would allow the approximately 7,000 independent and unaffiliated voters to take part in the election for judges.  The bill passsed the State Senate but failed in the House. As part of the effort to defeat the bill, judges of the circuit which includes St. Mary’s County responded to a letter seeking their input.  The following is the letter to the General Assembly sent by Judge Karen Abrams, and endorsed by Judge Mike Stamm. "