LETTERS
LETTERS

by The Baltimore Sun

November 19, 1995 Page(s): 4B
Edition: HOWARD SUN
Section: METRO
Length: 1511 words
Biographee: COLUMN, LETTER

Record Number: BSUN422041

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Bench needs diverse faces -- but qualified

More often than not, I strongly agree with Kevin Thomas' commentary. However, I find I must disagree with his Oct. 29 column about judicial choices. There is no
question that the Howard County legal community has for many years been an "old boy" network headquartered in Ellicott City. Clearly the bench and all aspects of
the Howard County justice system must better display diversity. However, that does not justify an appointment process which ignores experience and competence
and selects members of the judiciary solely on the basis of race and sex.

We suffer from a governor for whom political issues are paramount. His appointments -- beginning with the selection of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend as lieutenant
governor, whose sole qualifications were a big smile and an even bigger checkbook -- have been a consistent chain of mediocrity.

The governor's commission that created the new judicial selection process was seriously flawed because it merely substituted one political philosophy for another.
The new philosophy stressed women and blacks. Although that is an important value, the commission failed to address the much more serious issue of qualifications
for a judge. Because it is almost impossible for anyone other than a state's attorney or trial attorney to get on the list (irrespective of race or gender), the system
perpetuates one type of judge and that judge -- especially in the districts outside Baltimore -- is most often a white male. Again, the reason is a failure on the part of
the governor to develop qualities of a good judge first and to have those qualities carefully scrutinized by the legislature and the public. A large measure of the
outrage in this county about the appointment has to do with issues of experience, competence and temperament on the part of Diane O. Leasure and Donna Hill
Staton. It is not to suggest that these lawyers are not quality people. It is to suggest that some believe them not to be the best qualified individuals for appointment to
a very important position.

I agree with those people. It is incomprehensible to me that the governor did not appoint District Judges Lenore R. Gelfman and Louis A. Becker to the Circuit
Court and then appoint Ms. Leasure and Ms. Staton to the District Court. In that way, he would have accomplished his mission and would have allowed these two
lawyers a chance to develop sufficient experience to become competent for the Circuit Court. There are real and legitimate concerns about this governor, his
appointments, his choice of politics above substance and about long-term issues of the courts in Maryland.

Interestingly, one of the areas of consideration of the new courts commission is judicial selection standards.

Mr. Thomas, you are a wonderful writer with a keen and very important social sense, but be careful about broad-brush conclusions.

William I. Weston

Columbia

Copyright 1995 The Baltimore Sun Company