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Queen Anne's County leaders press case for second circuit court judge
Summary
Local officials and the county's chief judge told the Judiciary Committee HB 3 61 is needed to clear a backlog of more than 500 cases moved from district court, to improve consistency and avoid reliance on rotating senior judges.
Delegate Steve Arndt urged the Judiciary Committee to authorize an additional circuit court judgeship for Queen Anne's County, saying the county's single sitting judge handled more than 500 cases transferred from district court in 2024 and that the newly built county courthouse was designed to accommodate a second judge.
Sitting Judge Lynn Knight detailed how senior judges fill gaps but are not representatives of the local community, reducing consistency. "Our courthouse ... is ready, equipped, and able to handle a second judgeship," she said.
State's Attorney Lance Richardson described how sentencing practices and repeated case removals create an "amazing burden" on the circuit docket and pressed the committee to add permanent judicial capacity rather than rely on temporary senior judges.
Several committee members asked about an administrative model used by the judicial conference to prioritize judgeships; witnesses said the model's 2017 run missed newly recorded electronic‑court workload and administrative time but that county statistics and local officials support adding a judge.
Ending — The committee heard local officials, law‑enforcement and bar representatives in favor and concluded the HB 3 61 testimony; sponsors asked for a favorable report.
