10-30-2024 1:01am

County voters to elect circuit court judges Nov. 5

Photo: Element5 Digital

JUDICIAL ELECTION

While many eyes are on high-profile names at the top of this year’s ballot, Prince George’s County voters also have the opportunity to elect four of five candidates for a seat on the county’s circuit court.

Here’s a brief overview of each of the candidates and a recap of their past remarks on judicial vetting and equity in the judicial system.

On the ballot are Darren Johnson, Stenise Rolle, Michael Sheehan, Cheri Simpkins and Donnell Turner. Among them, four are current judges appointed by the governor, while Sheehan is running as a challenger.

Under Maryland law, appointed judges must run in the next general election to secure a full 15-year term, but Sheehan’s challenge could potentially unseat one of the governor’s four appointees if he’s elected.

About the candidates:

Darren Johnson: Appointed by former Governor Larry Hogan in January 2023, Johnson made history as the first Afro-Latino/African American associate judge of the Prince George's County Circuit Court. After graduating from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, he began his career as a solo practitioner and later joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an attorney advisor.
Stenise Rolle: Appointed as an associate judge on the county circuit court in 2023, Judge Rolle previously served as Prince George's County's first foreclosure magistrate. Born and raised in Miami, her legal career began at a small law firm in Tallahassee, Florida, where she litigated complex wrongful death, personal injury and premises liability cases.
Michael Sheehan: A challenger to the incumbents, Michael Sheehan is a Marine Corps veteran and tax attorney who has pledged not to accept campaign contributions from lawyers and law firms that might appear in his courtroom if elected.
Cheri Simpkins: The first Afro-Latina/African American on the District Court bench, Simpkins served as an Assistant State's Attorney for 14 years. She has worked in the Special Victims Unit and has a history of engaging in community outreach and education.
Donnell Turner: Appointed as an associate judge of the Prince George’s County Circuit Court in 2022, Judge Turner brings over 30 years of legal experience, including service as a federal prosecutor and Inspector General of the Prince George's Police Department.

Appointments and legal experience

During a virtual forum hosted by a local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in September, Turner discussed the rigorous vetting process that appointed judges undergo, saying it ensures that only qualified individuals sit on the bench.

A nominating commission vets the applicants and recommends judges to the governor. These appointed judges traditionally run in uncontested elections but have faced successful challenges in recent years, according to Maryland Matters.

After mounting a successful challenge, former circuit court judge April Ademiluyi independently won her judicial election in 2020 but was removed from the bench this year for judicial misconduct. For her part, Ademiluyi wrote in an op-ed that her colleagues retaliated against her for being a whistleblower.

Turner and the other sitting judges seeking election have been critical of bypassing the nominating commission process.

“The first step [to get elected] is that you simply pay $50 to put your name on the ballot to run against the sitting judges,” Turner said, referring to unvetted challengers.

The Prince George’s County Circuit Court handles a range of serious criminal and civil cases, including juvenile and family law matters such as divorce and custody. As Judge Rolle put it, the court handles everything from name changes to murder cases.

That’s where experience comes in, Turner said, “because we have to switch gears on the drop of a dime… we have to be prepared to handle all types of serious cases.”

All four sitting judges each have more than 20 years of experience and are running as a slate, appearing together on signs and a campaign website.

As a Marine Corps veteran and a tax attorney, Sheehan has emphasized his discipline, decisiveness and the different areas of the law that touch tax cases. He has urged voters to look at judicial campaign finance records, saying that judges should be “apolitical.”

An equitable justice system

In previous remarks, the judges have discussed how to create a more equitable system that also prioritizes community safety.

“Judges can advocate for reforms within the legal system to mitigate racial biases and ensure equitable treatment for all individuals, including juveniles…” Simpkins said earlier this year at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Prince George’s County.

Simpkins implemented a schools in court program that brings high schoolers into the courtroom for the day to learn about careers, their rights during traffic stops and the consequences of getting into a vehicle where there are drugs present.

Diversion programs can offer alternatives to incarceration and provide access to counseling, therapy and other services, Rolle has said.

Sheehan is a member of the American Constitution Society, a network of progressive lawyers, judges, scholars and others. He has said he agrees with the other four judges on the need for rehabilitative services and diversion programs.

“If the only tool we use in our arsenal is incarceration, we’re failing as a state,” Sheehan said at a forum ahead of the primary election.

He also has raised the question of whether judges and the length of sentences are playing a role in “perpetuating a cruel, archaic, and potentially racist system” of mass incarceration that largely affects Black people.

“Maryland is leading the nation in the percentage of our African American prison population. We are one of the bluest of the blue states, and we look like we’re Alabama and Mississippi when it comes to incarcerating Black people,” Sheehan said.

Understanding the human experience helps judges make fairer decisions and connect with the community, Johnson said.

“When you have to sentence someone, you have to weigh the value of someone's life versus the redemption of someone else's life, and that is a very tough task,” Johnson said.

“I think people sometimes don't recognize that we're individuals as well,” said Rolle, who was a single parent of an infant when she started her legal journey.

Early voting began Oct. 24 and runs to Oct. 31; the general election is set for Nov. 5.

Candidate information was compiled using bios, voter guides and forums:

Savannah Grooms covers Bowie as part of the University of Maryland Local News Network.
Catherine Hollingsworth contributed to this report.