Workgroup’s report calls for doing away with contested elections of circuit judges

After years of study, a judicial workgroup is recommending that Maryland do away with contested elections for its 175 circuit court judges, saying the process presents ethical problems and poses a risk to judges’ safety in the current political atmosphere. Instead of standing for reelection every 15 years in a campaign in which they could face challengers, the workgroup said that circuit judges should face voters every 10 years in a retention election, where voters get a simple yes-or-no choice of whether to keep the judge on the bench.