Judge choice diversity sought

Middleton wants African-Americans among finalists

Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton told aides to Gov. Martin O'Malley last week he was disappointed that the judicial nominating commission last month forwarded the minimum number of names to the governor for consideration when they could have sent up to seven finalists.

"I don't think you can make an argument that there are no experienced African-Americans practicing law in Charles County," said Middleton (D-Charles), who said he had previously discussed the lack of blacks on the bench with the local NAACP.

Middleton said he doesn't want to take anything away from the three white nominees, Charles County District Court Judge W. Louis Hennessy, Charles County Domestic Master Helen I. Harrington and La Plata attorney Thomas R. Simpson Jr., and he doesn't want the decision to be based only on race. But he's concerned that the bench does not reflect the community's changing demographics.

"My job is to represent my constituency," Middleton said. "A large part of my constituency is African-Americans. When you look at who goes before the courts in Charles County, my gut feeling is there are a larger percentage of African-Americans than there are [as a percentage of] the population and not to see a single black face, they've got to feel the system is insensitive to the African-American population."

Three African-Americans applied for the vacancy — Charles County Assistant State's Attorneys Karen R. Piper and Kenneth A. Talley and Tonia Y. Belton-Gofreed, who is counsel for the Prince George's County Human Relations Commission — but none were selected as finalists.

All three finalists boast years of legal experience and accomplished court backgrounds that would serve the circuit court well, said Talley, who is not upset about being passed over as a finalist.

Race should not be the determining factor when considering judicial nominees, but it also should not be ignored, he added. Achieving racial balance would send an important signal of fairness and equal representation to the county's growing African-American community.

"Diversity is never a bad thing," Talley said.

Belton-Gofreed declined to comment due to the ongoing appointment process, and Piper could not be reached.

La Plata attorney Rudolf A. Carrico Jr., who chairs the judicial nominating commission, was disappointed that Middleton did not share his concerns with the panel and said the members assess many factors when vetting candidates.

"The judicial nominating commission reflects the community and the process itself takes into concern all the thoughts of the members of the commission," he said. "Not a single one expressed any concern that I'm now hearing from Senator Middleton."

Last month, Carrico said any of the three nominees sent to O'Malley "could hit the ground running" if appointed.

It's unknown whether O'Malley (D) will ask the panel for more finalists or simply choose one of the three names before him. Ten people initially applied for the $140,352-a-year post. The governor strives for diversity when considering judicial appointments, said O'Malley press secretary Christine Hansen.

The appointment could be put on hold until the expected upcoming retirement of District Court Judge Richard A. Cooper creates another vacancy to see if any African-Americans are nominated then, Middleton said.

A district court vacancy would also occur if Hennessy is tapped for the circuit court. One commission member told Middleton that at least one of the African-American candidates who sought the circuit court opening would be better suited for the district court if they were to apply when a vacancy is advertised.

But Middleton said that is no guarantee that an African-American will be tapped for the bench.

"I just want to make sure when we have this opportunity, that an African-American be seriously considered and hopefully be appointed," he said.

Appointing an African-American to the Charles County bench is long overdue, Charles County NAACP President William Braxton said.

"We need to have somebody in there that looks like us, that will give some comfort or some level of confidence that racism does not exist in the judicial system, but a lot of people feel that it does," he said.

The county's overwhelming support of President-elect Barack Obama last week and the groundbreaking 2006 election of two African-American county commissioners is evidence that times have changed and the judicial system should respond, Braxton said.

"There's an opportunity for some change to be made in a positive way. If they had just sent one [African-American] name for consideration, that would have been a start," he said of the judicial nominating commission. "When are these people going to forget about the skin color and the good-old-buddy network and start working towards change? This county needs change, and it needs different faces in different places."

But above all else, Middleton doesn't want a prolonged vacancy to cause a backlog of dockets in the courthouse.

Henderson, who has served on the circuit court since 1996, formally retires in December, but already presided over his final hearing last month. He is exhausting about two months of accrued leave.

Staff writer Bethany Rodgers contributed to this report.

abrody@somdnews.com