Protective Order's Dismissal Called Mistake

Palumbo was scheduled to hear domestic violence cases last week, but he was pulled off that docket because of media attention surrounding the Cade case. He is scheduled to hear domestic violence cases again in December, said Rita Buettner of the court information office in Annapolis.

Palumbo, who was born in Newark, attended the University of Maryland and the University of Baltimore Law School. He was a county prosecutor from 1969 to 1974.

He then became a defense attorney in private practice for nearly 30 years and served as a state delegate for Prince George's for two decades. As a delegate, he was on the Judiciary Committee, the Joint Audit Committee, the Joint Committee of Investigation and the Appropriations Committee.

He was appointed to the bench in 2001.

Lloyd Johnson, who until recently was a Prince George's prosecutor, said Palumbo is a fair judge who has a tendency to move the docket faster than most. Johnson said it is common for a judge to have 60 cases and just a few hours to dispose of them.

"He's overly preoccupied with moving the docket," Johnson said. "Moving the docket is always a consideration in District Court, but I think that he tends to try to move it a bit more quickly. Sometimes that means you make a mistake. You always want to balance the issue by doing right to all sides."

Defense lawyer David M. Simpson called Palumbo a good District Court judge.

"It's important that a good District Court judge not only has good legal qualifications but good everyday practical experience," Simpson said. "He has that."