The Maryland Daily Record reports that eight people have applied for an empty seat on the Maryland Court of Appeals created by Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr.’s retirement. Judge Murphy sits on the court for the 2nd Appellate Circuit, which includes Baltimore and Harford counties.
- Andrew Howard Baida
- Honorable Kathleen Gallogly Cox
- Daniel Alan Friedman
- Honorable Paul William Grimm
- Jeffrey Donald Herschman
- Robert Neal McDonald
- Douglas R.M. Nazarian
- Honorable Alexander Wright, Jr.
Is it politically correct to handicap this race? No? Let’s do it, anyway.
There are a lot of big, big names in this field, including three very well respected sitting judges. I’m not taking anything away from any of these impressive candidates. I would just say this to be polite, but I really mean it. This is a Dream Team of potential high court applicants. But I think Federal Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm is a virtual lock.
Really, we should all be thrilled that he wants the job. If he instead retired from the bench and become an arbitrator or mediator, he could start printing money in his basement. The demand for well-respected mediators that parties on both sides of the aisle trust to be fair far exceeds the supply.
My Vegas odds are that he is the 1-5 pick to get the job.