Applications being accepted now for Maryland judgeship left vacant after judge's murder

Julie E. Greene, The Herald-Mail
·4 min read

A judicial nominating commission is accepting applications for a Washington County Circuit Court judgeship that became vacant following the death this fall of Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson.

The Maryland Judiciary posted an online notice Friday that the commission is accepting applications for the judgeship until 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 21.

David Harbin, president of the Washington County Bar Association, said the nominating commission will forward at least three names to Gov. Wes Moore.

The governor is to appoint someone to the bench before the Feb. 9 candidacy deadline for the 2024 election, Harbin said.

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Whoever is appointed would need to stand for election in 2024 to keep the judgeship, he said.

Circuit court judges serve 10-year terms.

Two local attorneys automatically entered into applicants pool

Local attorneys Kirk Chalis Downey and Jason Morton were automatically entered in the applicants pool because their names were forwarded to the governor as candidates for the last open judgeship, Harbin said. Gov. Larry Hogan appointed Joseph S. Michael to that judgeship in early 2022.

They are considered "pool candidates," and as such, they remain in the pool for "automatic consideration by the governor for future vacancies" for that court level in the same jurisdiction, according to the Maryland Judiciary website. Pool candidates remain in the pool for two years. Downey and Morton are eligible as pool candidates until Feb. 17.

Downey is the local government attorney for Washington County.

Morton is a private attorney, who practices family law and other matters for the Law Offices of Salvatore & Morton, which represents the City of Hagerstown.

Applications will be posted for public comments

The names of all applicants will be posted after the application deadline, according to the Maryland Judiciary notice.

The public may submit written and signed comments about an applicant's qualifications. Those comments should be sent to The Judicial Nominating Commission, c/o The Administrative Office of the Courts, Human Resources, 187 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Fourth Floor, Annapolis MD 21401.

Comments must be received at least a week before the commission meeting date. That meeting date had not been posted as of Monday.

The judgeship has been vacant since Oct. 19, when Wilkinson, 52, was found shot in the driveway of his home north of Hagerstown.

Authorities found the remains of the suspect in the attack, Pedro Argote, 49, of Frederick, Md., a week later on private property used for hunting, in an area near and east of the Pinesburg softball complex, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. That area is northwest of Williamsport.

Who will help choose nominees for the judgeship?

The nominating commission will interview candidates, nominating finalists for the governor to consider.

Moore's office announced appointments to the Washington County Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission on Monday night.

Hagerstown attorney and former state delegate D. Bruce Poole will chair the commission. Poole is managing partner of the Poole Law Group. He served as local counsel with the Multi-District Litigation opioid consortium, whose clients included Washington County and Hagerstown governments.

Other commission members are:

  • Harbin, who is a partner at the Harbin Law Office and a former assistant public defender. Harbin served on the board for the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.

  • Mary C. Baykan, director emeritus of the Washington County Free Library System and executive director emeritus of Western Maryland Public Libraries.

  • Erika Garrott Johnson, a partner with Greivell & Garrott Johnson and a certified mediator. Garrott Johnson is attorney at the Family Law Self Help Clinic.

  • Brian A. Kane, a shareholder in Kane & Stone who has a family law practice. Kane is a member of the Supreme Court of Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure.

  • Paul Francis Kemp, a partner with Ethridge, Quinn, Kemp, Rowan & Hartinger. Kemp is a former public defender on the state and federal level, as well as a former assistant state's attorney for Montgomery County, Md.

  • Sarah McKelvey Mollett-Gaumer is a deputy state's attorney for Washington County. She was previously an associate with Powell Flynn, where she had a general civil practice.

  • Tereance Rayshaun Moore, founder and center director for Mediation First, a Hagerstown-based organization that provides affordable access to community mediation services, training and education.

  • Aitza Haddad Nunez, founder and director of Friendly Law, a nonprofit that provides future, current and former low-income law students with opportunities and help to start their professional legal career.

  • R. David Pembroke, a local solo practitioner. His general practice focuses on criminal and family law. Pembroke is on the Faculty Advisory Board of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

  • Alison Christine Peteranecz, a partner with the Antietam Law Group. Peteranecz is a certified Child Counsel Attorney and worked for ICF International to help with the housing recovery program following Hurricane Katrina.

  • Thomas Edward Robins, District Court supervising attorney for the Office of the Public Defender in Washington County. Robins also has been a public defender in Baltimore in the Appellate Division and in Pennsylvania.

  • Margaret Lynn Williams, a local solo practitioner. Williams has a general practice that focuses on family law. She is a former executive director of the Child Advocacy Center in Washington, D.C., and was the first female president of the Washington County Bar Association.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Judge Andrew Wilkinson's vacant seat to be filled in next two months