Baltimore County Gets Two New Judges
Governor O'Malley has recently appointed two well-known Baltimore County lawyers to serve as judges on the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. They are S. Ann Brobst and John Nagle. I don't personally know either of them, although I know both by reputation.
John Nagle is a partner in Bodie/Nagle, which is one of the largest law firms in Baltimore County. He has the reputation of being a smart guy with a great deal of litigation experience. He has worked mostly on the defense side of the "v." A layperson might think that I would prefer judicial appointees who come from a more plaintiff-oriented background. They would be wrong. I want judges who are fair, smart, openminded, and who will allow me to educate them on the law if they don't know it already. From all accounts, Mr. Nagle will be that type of judge. He is set to be sworn in on January 5.
The other appointee, Judge Brobst (who was sworn in yesterday) is a long-time Baltimore County prosecutor. According to a profile published in the Sun, she has prosecuted several high-profile cases, including Kirk Bloodsworth. Bloodsworth was sentenced to death, only to be freed nearly a decade later when DNA evidence not available at the time of his trial exonerated him. I imagine the experience of securing a death sentence as a prosecutor and later finding out that an innocent man was convicted (thankfully before his execution) has made Judge Brobst keenly aware of the magnitude of the decisions made by Maryland courts. Maryland circuit court judges hear all kinds of cases, so it is likely that Judge Brobst will hear civil cases as well as criminal. I don't see this as a big deal- I have tried many civil cases before judges who are former prosecutors. Generally they have tried a ton of cases before going on the bench, and excel at letting the lawyers do their thing. I would almost always prefer to try my case in front of a judge who has significant trial experience because they know what it is like to be the person standing in front of the jury, and run the case accordingly. To they extent they lack substantive knowledge of the particular law that applies to the case, being prepared to educate the Court is part of an advocate's job.
I do not know Judge Brobst personally, but two of the commentators in the Sun article are lawyers I respect greatly: Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Maryland State Bar Association President-Elect Henry Dugan. Scott and I worked together many years ago with Peter Angelos's firm, and Henry is involved in the Maryland Association for Justice, where I am a board member. Both of these gentlemen are fine trial lawyers, and I take their praise of Judge Brobst as a significant endorsement.
Both of these new judicial appointments are welcomed in Baltimore County, where the caseloads have been growing, and being down a few judges has impacted the court's ability to move the docket. Initally, my opinion is that these are two solid appointments that will beneift the Court, the parties who appear before it, and the citizens of Baltimore County.
