Md. judiciary workgroup sets public hearing as it mulls changes in how judges are selected

As a member of his high school’s debating team in 1968, Sen. Christopher West (R-Baltimore County) was assigned to argue in favor of a proposed state constitutional amendment that, among other things, would have done away with competitive elections as the means of choosing judges for Maryland’s circuit courts. While West’s side won the high school match, the constitutional amendment was rejected by the voters that year — and legislative debate over the issue has continued since, without resolution. “The issue of election of circuit court judges has been the subject of serious deliberation for 54 years by my counting,” West told a Maryland Judiciary workgroup last week, while wryly observing — quoting the late Yogi Berra — “I get the distinct feeling of déjà vu all over again.”