No Violation In Judicial Campaign Flyer

The Maryland Court of Appeals has declined to find misconduct by a candidate for judicial office.

The matter involved  a campaign flyer that stated that the opposing candidate “[o]pposes registration of convicted sexual predators.”

On or about March 27, 2012, in response to Judge Densford’s campaign material, Mr. Stanalonis’ campaign mailed a flyer to voters that purported to contrast the experience and outlooks of the two candidates. The left side of the flyer displayed a photograph of Mr. Stanalonis in a jacket and tie, below which appeared a number of statements about him, such as “16 Years as a St. Mary’s County Prosecutor” and “Protecting Our Community, Not the Criminals.” The right side of the flyer a displayed a photograph of Judge Densford in a Hawaiian shirt, below which appeared a number of statements displayed of statements about him, such as “Donated $1,000 to O’Malley on July 14, 2010” and “Opposes your right to elect judges.” A panel at the bottom of the flyer displayed a photograph of Mr. Stanalonis with his family and reiterated his experience as a prosecutor. Judge Densford later responded with his own flyer comparing the qualifications of the two candidates. At issue before us is one of the statements in the Stanalonis campaign flyer that appears under Judge Densford’s photograph: “Opposes registration of convicted sexual predators.”

The court

This case arose out of a hotly-contested primary election campaign for a position on the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County. An experienced prosecutor in the County sought to unseat a newly-appointed judge who, during the course of his career, had represented defendants in criminal cases in the County. As in many election campaigns, each candidate touted, with some exaggeration, his own experience and credentials. And each candidate disparaged, in various ways and without absolute accuracy, those of his opponent. The question before us is whether there is clear and convincing evidence that a statement in the challenger’s campaign flyer was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and therefore violated the Maryland  Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct (“MLRPC”).

The Attorney Grievance Commission (“Commission”) charged Respondent Joseph M. Stanalonis with violating MLRPC 8.2(a) (false statement as to qualification or integrity of a judge, public legal officer, or candidate for such office), MLRPC 8.4(c) (misconduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), and MLRPC 8.4(d) (misconduct prejudicial to the administration of justice) by virtue of three statements about his opponent in a campaign flyer circulated on his behalf. Pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-752(a), this Court designated Judge Melanie M. Shaw Geter of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County to conduct a hearing and Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct(“MLRPC”).  concerning the alleged violations and to provide findings of fact and recommended conclusions of law.

Following a hearing at which Mr. Stanalonis was present and represented by counsel, the hearing judge issued findings of fact and recommended conclusions of law. The hearing judge concluded that two of the statements did not violate the MLRPC, but that the third statement violated all of the cited rules, although Mr. Stanalonis had a “demonstrable basis” for making that statement. Mr. Stanalonis excepted to the conclusion that he had violated the MLRPC. We sustain that exception, and, as a result, shall dismiss the charges

Judge Watt concurred and dissented.

Judge Harrell dissented

My views regarding the appropriate disposition of this case are informed by the aphorism “Judicial Elections Are Different.” Contested circuit court judgeship elections are different than other types of contested elections for public office because special rules and processes distinguish them as a category apart. They should be treated and seen as different also because of the unique nature of the office being sought. In addition to complying with State election laws generally, judges’ political activities are regulated by Rule 4.1 through 4.6 of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct (Md. Rule 16-813). Attorneys who seek judicial office are regulated by Rule 8.2 of the Maryland Lawyers Rules of Professional Conduct (MLRPC) (Md. Rule 16-814). These regulations aim to protect the integrity of judicial office and the legal profession. The Maryland Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee (MJCCC) was formed to focus attention on and foster integrity and civility in this specific genre of the Maryland judicial election process…

The Majority opinion sets-up principally its ultimate toleration of Stanalonis’ mis-representation of the view attributed to Judge Densford, as a sitting judge, as protected speech and/or merely imprecise language chosen during the “heat” of nothing more than a generic political campaign. Maj. slip op. at 9-11. The Majority’s setting of this scenic backdrop does not convince me to buy-in to its analysis that followed. Wishful thinking and recklessness should not be protected. Contested judicial elections are not merely generic political campaigns…

Stanalonis, eschewing further inquiry or verification, tailored to his ends, at best, an impermissible and unsupported leap of logic to infer from attorney Densford’s advocacy of his clients’ best interest to a generic and false view of opposition to the statutory scheme held by Densford as a judge. He cared little apparently for whether his starting-point statement was true, accurate, or taken out-of-context, standing pat on the claim that apparently none of his State’s Attorney colleagues spoke up against his unsubstantiated extrapolation from a false starting-point. Stanalonis’ conduct was a gross departure from what a reasonably prudent lawyer challenging a sitting judge should have done and a gross deviation from the kind of conduct we should expect from any candidate for judicial office. Toleration of such shenanigans in general electoral campaigns is one thing, but is not acceptable here. The Majority opinion’s forgiving attitude toward Stanalonis’ misconduct will reap the whirlwind in future contested circuit court elections.

Judge Harrell would impose a reprimand. (Mike Frisch)