The Maryland State Bar Association serves as the voice of the legal profession and has had a longstanding policy to support all sitting judges in the Circuit Courts for Maryland in contested elections. The Maryland Constitution requires Circuit Court Judges to stand for election to a full term after being appointed by the Governor. The MSBA works to ensure that the profession and Maryland citizens understand the rigorous process involved to select the state’s current sitting judges, based on their judicial characteristics, quality, and merit.

It is the MSBA’s view that the selection of judges must be dedicated to placing and retaining persons of the highest quality of character, integrity, judicial temperament and learning on Maryland’s bench. To achieve this goal, state judges need to be appointed on the basis of merit. Sitting Judges have been found to be qualified by a Judicial Nominating Commission and were selected by the Governor of the State. They have earned the confidence, respect and support of the Bar and a diverse group of organizations involved in the selection process. This is why the MSBA supports Sitting Judges for the Circuit Courts of Maryland.