Maryland judicial elections, 2012

Judicial Elections
2013 » « 2011
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]

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 requires 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]

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 requires 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]

In the News[edit]

2012[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, and though the challenger was competitive he was not able to garner enough votes to win the seat from the incumbent. 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%. Though 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 quite new to the court systems, having been appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley between late 2010 and earlier in 2012.

Maryland judges and justices serve long terms, 15 years for trial court judges and 10 years for appellate court judges, 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 cruise to victory[edit]

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

Maryland's judicial elections were amazingly uncompetitive in 2012, as was also the case in 2010. In all, there were 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. Despite the lack of competitiveness overall in the elections this year, over half of the judges are relatively new to the court, being 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 edged out 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]

• The race for the 7th Circuit, St. Mary's County judgeship was competitive, with incumbent Judge David Wylie Densford taking 63% of the Democratic vote and challenger Joseph Michael Stanalonis taking 66.1% of the Republican vote. The two will face off in what should be a close 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)

v • e Judicial elections, 2012 Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Florida • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maryland • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming