Nine candidates vie for Prince George's County Circuit Court seat

Prince George’s County voters face an unusually crowded judicial race for Circuit 7, with nine candidates seeking a permanent seat on the Circuit Court. The contest matters well beyond campaign literature: Circuit Court judges handle bail, serious criminal cases, family disputes, juvenile matters and civil judgments that can affect residents for years.

The court itself is a major local institution. Prince George’s County Circuit Court has 23 full-time judges, seven full-time Family Division magistrates, 15 recalled senior judges and about 100 employees, serving a county of roughly 750,000 people. That workload makes the court one of the most consequential parts of county government, even though its judges usually draw less attention than elected executives or legislators.

Maryland’s judicial system gives the governor the first move in filling circuit court seats, using local nominating commissions that have been in place since 1970. Judges are appointed by the governor, confirmed by the Senate and then must stand for election or retention for a 15-year term after at least one year of service. The eligibility rules are strict: candidates must be U.S. citizens, registered voters, Maryland lawyers, at least 30 years old, with at least five years’ residence in Maryland and at least six months’ residence in the county.

Most of the field is already on the bench. LaKeecia Allen has served as an associate judge since 2024 and previously sat on the District Court; she also taught at Bowie State University. Scott M. Carrington has been an associate judge since 2024, after work on the District Court and in Adult Drug Court, and brings military credentials as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and a former JAG officer. Ada Elizabeth Clark-Edwards joined the Circuit Court in 2024 after eight years on the District Court and earlier service in the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, where she worked on domestic and family violence cases.

The ballot also includes DaNeeka Varner Cotton, Charlotte Ormond, Joseph C. Ruddy and Victor Manuel Del Pino, along with the other candidates in the nine-person field. Voters may select up to nine of the nine candidates, making this race less like a one-seat free-for-all and more like a public review of the current bench.

The broader policy question is whether Prince George’s County continues choosing judges through the long-standing appointment-and-election model or moves toward a different term structure. A 2025 Maryland bill considered cutting circuit court terms from 15 years to 10, underscoring that the rules governing the bench remain as important as the names on the ballot.