Sun article, 16 July 1995

The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland
The Evening Sun, Baltimore, Maryland
The Sunday Sun, Baltimore, Maryland

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

by THE BALTIMORE SUN

July 16, 1995 Page(s): 4C
Edition: HOWARD SUN
Section: METRO
Length: 1981 words
Biographee: LETTER

Record Number: BSUN399521

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Court Diversity

The Sun's June 16 editorial ("For a More Diverse Circuit
Court") indicates either that you are unaware that the names of two
women are on the list submitted to Gov. Parris Glendening by the
Judicial Nominating Commission or that you do not consider these
"female candidates to be worthy of a judgeship on Howard County's
Circuit Court."
I wholeheartedly agree that qualified minority candidates
should receive every consideration for the existing vacancies on
the Circuit Court.
However, your editorial ignores the fact that the list which
Governor Glendening has held for nearly two months does include the
name of two extremely well-qualified female candidates, Judge
Lenore Gelfman and Diane O. Leasure, Esquire.
Ms. Leasure is chairman of the litigation section of her
Seabrook, Md., law firm of Fossett & Brugger, Chartered, and she is
the current president of the Prince George's County Bar Association.
Judge Lenore Gelfman, a lawyer with 20-plus years experience,
has served with distinction on Howard County's District Court for
five years. She is a community leader who received high marks from
both the lawyers and litigants who appear before her.
In fact, in a straw poll conducted among the membership of the
Howard County Bar Association, Judge Gelfman received the highest
number of votes as "highly qualified" for the position, besting all
the other candidates on the list submitted to the governor. It
should be noted that 27 percent of the Howard County Bar
Association are women; thus, the implication that the bar is a
closed organization of white males is without basis.
As the Circuit Court's backlog continues to grow and as two of
the five judges' seats are vacant, there is no reason for Governor
Glendening to continue to hold up this appointment. Not while he
has the opportunity to elevate a female as worthy as Judge Gelfman.
The Sun seems to have missed the point on this one.

James K. Eagan III

Columbia

The writer was president of the Howard County Bar Association 1993-94.