Maryland judicial elections, 2012

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Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2012
Judicial election dates

The Maryland judicial elections consisted of a primary on April 3rd and general election on November 6th. The filing deadline was January 11th.[1]

## Maryland judicial elections summary, 2012

|  |  Court of Appeals  |  Court of Special Appeals  |  Trial

|
|
|

Total candidates  |  3  |  3 |  30
Unopposed candidates  |  0 |  0 |  25
Judges facing retention  |  3 |  3 |
Judges retained |  3 |  3 |
Judges re-elected |  |  |  26
Judges not re-elected |  |  |  0
New judges elected |  |  |  0
Partisan or Nonpartisan |  | Nonpartisan |

## Court of Appeals[edit]

Judge| Incumbency| Retention vote| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

BattagliaLynne Battaglia A| Yes| 313,782| 86.2%A
BellRobert M. Bell A| Yes| 179,718| 86.9%A
McDonaldRobert N. McDonald A| Yes| 348,459| 84.1%A

## Court of Special Appeals[edit]

Judge| Incumbency| Retention vote| Retention Vote %

|
|
|

HottenMichele D. Hotten A| Yes| 293,909| 90.7%A
WattsShirley Marie Watts A| Yes| 176,999| 88.1%A
BergerStuart R. Berger A| Yes| 1,831,861| 85.5%A

## Circuit Court[edit]

### First Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

ShockleyBrian Shockley A| Yes| Worcester County| | 99.4% A
SeatonLeah Jane Seaton A| Yes| Wicomico County| | 99.2% A

### Second Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

MurrayJane Cairns Murray A| Yes| Cecil County| | 48.9% A
BaynesKeith Baynes A| Yes| Cecil County| | 50.6% A

### Third Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

BowenBeth Bowen A| Yes| Harford County| | 98.7% A
PurpuraNancy M. Purpura A| Yes| Baltimore County| | 99.1% A

### Fifth Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

GelfmanLenore R. Gelfman A| Yes| Howard County| | 52.1% A
NorthPamela L. North A| Yes| Anne Arundel County| | 98.8% A
TuckerWilliam Vincent Tucker A| Yes| Howard County| | 47.2% A

### Sixth Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

AlbrightAnne Korbel Albright A| Yes| Montgomery County| | 36.3% A
ScrivenerLouise G. Scrivener A| Yes| Montgomery County| | 30.9% A
MasonMichael D. Mason A| Yes| Montgomery County| | 32.3% A
Nicklas, Jr.William Rogers Nicklas, Jr. A| Yes| Frederick County| | 99.1% A

### Seventh Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

CottonDaNeeka V. Cotton A| Yes| Prince George's County| | 20% A
DensfordDavid Wylie Densford A| Yes| St. Mary's County| | 52.1% A
El-AminHassan Ali El-Amin A| Yes| Prince George's County| | 17.7% A
DaveyJohn Paul Davey A| Yes| Prince George's County| | 19.6% A
StanalonisJoseph Michael Stanalonis | No| St. Mary's County| | 47.7% D
AlvesKrystal Q. Alves A| Yes| Prince George's County| | 22.9% A
ClagettMarjorie L. Clagett A| Yes| Calvert County| | 99.2% A
KrauserSherrie L. Krauser A| Yes| Prince George's County| | 19.6% A

### Eighth Circuit[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Position| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|
|

PetersCharles J. Peters A| Yes| Baltimore City| | 15.5% A
YoungDavid W. Young A| Yes| Baltimore City| | 16.5% A
HongJeannie J. Hong A| Yes| Baltimore City| | 15.8% A
AusbyKendra Y. Ausby A| Yes| Baltimore City| | 18.1% A
ReedMichael Wilson Reed A| Yes| | | 16.2% A
TannerYolanda A. Tanner A| Yes| Baltimore City| | 17.5% A

## Ballot measures[edit]

### Certified[edit]

The Maryland Orphans' Court Judge Qualifications Amendment, Prince George's County, Question 1 (2012) was a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot. The measure was approved.

The measure required judges of the Orphans' Court for Prince George's County to have been admitted to practice law in Maryland and be in good standing with the Maryland Bar.[2]

The ballot measure read as follows:[3]

“  | Question 1
Constitutional Amendment (Ch. 394 of the 2011 Legislative Session)
Qualifications for Prince George’s County Orphans’ Court Judges

(Amending Article IV, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution)
Requires judges of the Orphans’ Court for Prince George’s County to be admitted to practice law in this State and to be a member in good standing of the Maryland Bar.

For the Constitutional Amendment
Against the Constitutional Amendment[4] | ”

|
|

The Maryland Orphans' Court Judge Qualifications Amendment, Baltimore County, Question 2 (2012) was a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot. The measure was approved.

The measure required judges of the Orphans' Court for Baltimore County to have been admitted to practice law in Maryland and be in good standing with the Maryland Bar.[5] The ballot measure read as follows:[3]

“  | Question 2
Constitutional Amendment (Ch. 146 of the 2012 Legislative Session)
Qualifications for Baltimore County Orphans’ Court Judges

(Amending Article IV, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution)
Requires judges of the Orphans’ Court for Baltimore County to be admitted to practice law in this State and to be a member in good standing of the Maryland Bar.

For the Constitutional Amendment
Against the Constitutional Amendment[4] | ”

|
|

## In the news[edit]

##### Maryland election recap[edit]

November 14, 2012

Maryland judges participate in nonpartisan elections for the trial court level, and retention elections for the appellate court level. In the 2012 elections there were 33 candidates in all, 27 of which were for the trial courts and six of which were for the appellate courts (three each for the Court of Special Appeals and the Court of Appeals).

Only one race in the state was opposed this year. This race was for the St. Mary's County seat on the Maryland Seventh Circuit court. The incumbent, David Wylie Densford, earned 52% of the vote to challenger Joseph Michael Stanalonis' 47.8%. All incumbents were successful in the elections, and only one race garnered any challengers. Over half of the judges up for election this year were appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley between late 2010 and earlier in 2012.

Maryland judges and justices serve 15 year terms in trial courts and 10 year terms in appellate courts, so the candidates seen in this year's election will not be reviewed again by voters for some time unless they move to a new position within the court system.

### Incumbents win elections[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: Highlights of the 2012 judicial elections on November 15, 2012

Maryland's judicial elections in 2012 featured 33 candidates, 27 of which were for the trial courts and would have been able to face opposition (appellate court justices in the state face retention, so are always unopposed).

Only one race in the state faced opposition: the St. Mary's County seat on the Maryland Seventh Circuit Court. This race was between incumbent David Wylie Densford and challenger Joseph Michael Stanalonis. Densford earned 52% of the vote to Stanalonis' 47.8%. With Densford's re-election, all incumbents were successful in their bids for election. Over half of the judges were selected by governor Martin O'Malley in the last two years.

### Maryland primary results[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: Judicial primaries and candidates gearing up on April 5, 2012.

The state of Maryland held its primary election on April 3. Though the primaries are partisan, judges running for re-election do so without party designation and thus appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballots.[6] A number of judges were unopposed for re-election. Here are the outcomes of the contested Circuit Court races:

* In the 2nd Circuit (Cecil County), Judges Jane Cairns Murray and Keith Baynes defeated challenger Michael D. Smigiel, Sr. All three candidates were filed on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. Murray and Baynes were both appointed in 2011 and are running for election to a full term.[7][8]

* In the race for the 3rd Circuit, Harford County judgeship, incumbent Judge M. Elizabeth Bowen won in both primaries, receiving 74% of the Democratic votes and 54.8% of the Republican votes. She defeated challengers H. Edward Andrews, III and Steven J. Scheinin.[9]

* In the race for the 5th Circuit, Howard County judgeship, incumbent Judges William V. Tucker and Lenore R. Gelfman won both primaries, defeating challenger Clarke Ahlers.[10]

* In the race for the 7th Circuit, St. Mary's County judgeship, incumbent Judge David Wylie Densford won 63% of the Democratic vote and challenger Joseph Michael Stanalonis won 66.1% of the Republican vote. The two will face off in a general election.[11]

## See also[edit]

* Maryland judicial elections
* Judicial selection in Maryland

## External links[edit]

* Maryland State Board of Elections, 2012 Presidential Election Candidates
* Maryland State Board of Elections, 2012 Primary State Candidates List (dead link)

Maryland courts

* * *

Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Maryland • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Maryland

State courts:

Maryland Supreme Court • Appellate Court of Maryland • Maryland District Courts • Maryland Circuit Courts • Maryland Orphans' Court

State resources:

Courts in Maryland • Maryland judicial elections • Judicial selection in Maryland

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Judicial elections, 2012

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1. ↑ Maryland Board of Elections: 2012 Presidential Election Calendar (Scroll to p.2)
2. ↑ Maryland State Legislature, "SB 281 summary," accessed June 1, 2011
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maryland State Board of Elections "2012 General Election Ballot Question Language," accessed August 21, 2012
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
5. ↑ Maryland State Legislature, "SB 48 summary," accessed May 31, 2012
6. ↑ Explore Howard, "Incumbents Gelfman, Tucker win Circuit Court judge race," April 4, 2012
7. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential Primary Election results, Judicial Circuit 2"
8. ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Cecil's primary election features big fields for first county executive and an interesting judicial contest," March 29, 2012
9. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential Primary Election results, Judicial Circuit 3"
10. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential Primary Election results, Judicial Circuit 5"
11. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential Primary Election results, Judicial Circuit 7"