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Slade says he'll leave judgeship
Jurist to tell governor he won't start a second 10-year term
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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St. Mary's District Judge John F. Slade III said Monday that he'll notify the governor this summer that he won't seek reappointment to the judicial post, triggering a process to select his successor.
Slade, who will turn 66 in August, would only be able to serve four years of a second 10-year term before reaching mandatory retirement from full duty as the county's only resident district court jurist.
After he steps down in October from the job he began in 1999, he'll still be eligible to serve on the bench, but he looks forward to other things.
"I'll fill in when they need me," Slade said at his chambers in the Carter state office building in Leonardtown. "I'd like to work around my house and garden, and do a little travel. There's always plenty to do."
Slade served in the early 1970s as an assistant public defender, the first to be specifically assigned to St. Mary's, before taking a job as a deputy state's attorney.
"I didn't particularly enjoy prosecuting people," Slade said, and he went back to the other table as the district public defender for the tri-county region, before launching a 17-year political career as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Gov. Parris Glendening (D) appointed him to the judgeship.
"It's a wonderful job," Slade said, but from his office overlooking the county jail, he noted his own restricted mobility, at least during the workday.
"It's very confining. You're here day in and day out. You can't go anywhere," he said, except a midday trip to get a cup of coffee or stop at a hardware store.
"That's about as far as I get during a day," he said. "It's a tight schedule."
The court's morning and afternoon dockets range from landlord-tenant disputes to traffic tickets. Criminal cases run the gamut of misdemeanor crimes and preliminary hearings on felony charges. "You think you've heard it all, until you hear the next case. That's what makes it interesting," the judge said, particularly when it comes to peoples' explanation of their conduct. "They're very creative," he said.
Slade said the most rewarding part of his job may be witnessing a person move forward from a past of getting into trouble, by successfully completing a rehabilitation program and maturing into a responsible person. The judge sometimes receives thank-you letters from former defendants.
"They're able to go out and become a productive member of society," he said. "It's important to see people make progress."
Conversely, a high recidivism rate, the re-arrest of former defendants on new charges, is most troublesome to the judge.
"It's rare that we see a new face in the courtroom," Slade said. "It's very disheartening when you see the same people year in and year out. It's not a sign of success, but you keep trying ... [and hoping] that person will have an awakening."
The process of appointing Slade's successor will include a formal announcement of the vacancy, and the filing of applications by lawyers who will appear before members of a local judicial nominating commission. The commission's members will send its list of nominees to current Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who will appoint the new judge.
The application process begins as the governor contacts the commission, Chairperson Sue Ann Lewis Armitage said Tuesday at the county courthouse. "Once the applications are in, the governor's assistant starts setting up the nominating commission interviews," Armitage said.
Slade said the process will start when he contacts O'Malley in July or August. "I have to notify the governor that I'm not going to seek reappointment," Slade said.
Christy Holt Chesser, the county's attorney, said Tuesday that she plans to apply for the judgeship. Theodore Weiner, the deputy state's attorney, said that he is considering his options.
