3 New Judges, Picked By O'Malley, May Shift Divided Panel's Balance

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has left his imprint on the state's highest court to an extraordinary degree, naming three of its seven judges after less than two years in office, making him the first governor in more than a century to exert such influence so quickly.

The Court of Appeals in recent years has been divided on contentious issues by the thinnest of margins: upholding a ban on same-sex marriage, finding that the standard of proof in death-penalty cases is sufficient.

The leanings of the new judges -- Joseph F. Murphy Jr., Sally D. Adkins and Mary Ellen Barbera -- are not known. O'Malley opposes the death penalty and has supported civil unions, though not gay marriage.

The three judges who have retired since O'Malley took office were regarded as generally conservative. Irma S. Raker, Dale R. Cathell and Alan M. Wilner left the court after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Their replacements were elevated from the Court of Special Appeals, the state's lower appellate court. In a state with a judicial culture that shuns ideology, even close watchers of the court are loath to predict how the new judges will rule on many issues.

"The truth is no one knows," said Andrew D. Levy, who has argued cases before the court and is the co-author of a book on appellate practice in Maryland.

The landmark same-sex marriage case, decided last year, went directly from the trial court to the high court. The judges also do not have a record on death-penalty appeals, which routinely bypass the lower appellate court.

O'Malley's chief counsel, Elizabeth Harris, said the judges were chosen for their "integrity, fairness and intellectual ability" and were "not vetted or selected to push a particular policy or agenda."

One shift that appears certain, experts say, concerns the debate over the state's role in managing local growth and development and preserving environmentally sensitive areas.

Cathell was widely viewed as the most ardent and influential voice for the rights of property owners. Adkins, who replaced Cathell in the seat covering the Eastern Shore, is considered unlikely to follow Cathell's path on land use.

"It's the starkest impact by far," said lawyer Timothy Maloney, a former state delegate who serves on the commission that screens candidates for the appellate court. "While they are both very qualified judges, they come out in very different places. If you're looking for one major difference, it will be on the environment."

Cathell, for example, wrote the majority opinion this year in an important 4 to 3 ruling that local jurisdictions are not bound by their master plans or statewide policies on growth and development.