HB 35

Did not advanceConstitutional amendment

Judges – Selection and Retention

Sponsor: Jon S. Cardin (District 11B)Committee: JudiciarySubject: Courts and Court Personnel - StatewideStatus: Hearing 2/24 at 1:30 p.m. (Judiciary) (as of Dec 1, 2021)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution to provide for retention elections for judges of the circuit courts; proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution decreasing the term of office from 15 years to 12 years for the judges of the circuit courts; proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution to increase the number of years between successive retention elections for judges of the Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals; submitting the amendment to the qualified voters of the State; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (17)

MGA witness list

FAV 10FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 6Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Watkins, Ralph	League of Women Voters of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jarashow, Ronald	Maryland Association for Justice	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Barbera, Chief Judge Mary Ellen	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Baynes , Judge Keith	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Berry, Judge Bibi	Maryland Judiciary	Oral
FAV	Elalamy, Sara	Maryland Judiciary	Written (PDF)
FAV	Siri, Michellelobbyist	The Women's Law Center of Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Jarashow, Ron	myself	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Cardin, Delegate Cardinlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Montgomery, Richard	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Barber, Claudia	Claudia Barber, Attorney at Law	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Morris, Marguerite	For Kathy's Sake/Community Actively Seeking Transparency	Oral
UNF	Pierre, Marylin	Law Office of Marylin Pierre	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Jones, Rickey	NAACP (AAC)(2nd Vice President) & National Bar Association Chair, Law & Religion Section)	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Banerjee, Mithun	Individual	Oral
UNF	dugan, Robert	Individual	Oral
FWA	Smith, Eric	Winning Strategies: Fatherhood, The Courts & Custody, Incorporated	Oral + Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

Claudia Barber, Attorney at LawUNF 1

For Kathy's Sake/Community Actively Seeking TransparencyUNF 1

Law Office of Marylin PierreUNF 1

League of Women Voters of MarylandFAV 1

Maryland Association for JusticeFAV 1

Maryland JudiciaryFAV 4

myselfFAV 1

NAACP (AAC)(2nd Vice President) & National Bar Association Chair, Law & Religion Section)UNF 1

The Women's Law Center of MarylandFAV 1

Winning Strategies: Fatherhood, The Courts & Custody, IncorporatedFWA 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVSiri, MichelleThe Women's Law Center of MarylandRegistered for: Maryland Legal Services Corporation; Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc.