Election Guide 2024: Meet The Circuit Court Candidates

Anne Arundel County has important races in the 2024 presidential general election, with the Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) Board of Education and Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on the ballot. Statewide, the election will decide representatives for the U.S. Senate and Congress.

Get to know the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court candidates for District 5 ahead of the election. Early voting runs from October 24-31, and Election Day is November 5.

Responses were edited for space. Full responses are available at www.severnaparkvoice.com.

CIRCUIT COURT — DISTRICT 5

Claudia Barber

You have extensive civil and criminal law experience. How has that prepared you for the circuit court?

I am the only candidate on the ballot with more than 35 years of civil and criminal legal experience, which includes adjudicating cases for more than 10 years as a judge. I also have extensive experience litigating cases in state and federal courts, representing plaintiffs and defendants. This includes handling criminal defense work, family law matters, child-in-need-of-assistance cases, custody, child support, uncontested and contested divorces, civil rights, corporate disputes, declaratory judgment actions, bankruptcy, worker’s compensation, name changes, corporate defense, contract matters and many other civil matters.

I have practiced before and remain a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals — D.C. Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and U.S. District Court of Maryland, where I represented clients under the Criminal Justice Act as a panel attorney.

The circuit court handles everything from civil and criminal cases to family cases, appeals and more. What else would you like people to know about the responsibility of the circuit court?

Trusting the judicial system matters. Citizens should not feel as though no one listened to their cases. Judges should be active listeners and be keenly aware of sentencing disparity and how it impacts communities.

What are the biggest challenges facing the circuit court?

The Supreme Court of Maryland began certain initiatives and committees involving equal justice. In 2020, the Equal Justice Committee was formed. There are now three subcommittees, including community outreach, court operations and sentencing committee. This work is necessary to ensure equity in our courts is realized. This should continue.

Community outreach should take on more initiatives, like hosting forums. The court operations committee should meet stakeholders, especially the disabilities community leaders, to ensure needs are met when addressing access to the courthouse for the blind, wheelchair bound, or for those who walk with canes or other mobility devices. And the sentencing committee should be more laser-focused on correcting sentencing disparity in the past, which resulted in long incarceration sentences.

Also, a few years ago, there was a backlog in Anne Arundel County of hundreds of unserved warrants. The circuit courts should develop a strategic plan to update judges on how this situation is being resolved. There were also concerns about whether or not residents in South County could participate in drug diversion programs due to transportation problems. I currently serve on the Anne Arundel County Transportation Commission. I am aware that Call N’ Ride is a new initiative, which addresses this concern. This service is exclusive to South County.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?

I authored over 5,000 decisions as an administrative law judge from 2005-2016. I am a former District 4 director of the National Association of Women Judges (2011-2013).

I am an accomplished author, award winning newsletter editor (recipient of national NAACP Thalheimer Award), recipient of the 2024 Lawyers of Distinction Award, and 2022 Sojourner Truth Award and 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award. I also received the 2021 IPMA Chapter Award of Excellence when serving as president of the IPMA Patuxent River Basin chapter.

Tom Casey

You have more than 25 years of legal experience. How has your background prepared you for the circuit court?

My background has prepared me more than any other candidate on the ballot. I have been a prosecutor in Anne Arundel County, prosecuting criminal cases. I have experience practicing in the following areas of law: family, business, administrative, antitrust, wills and trusts, franchise, commercial and residential leases, and real property. I have been part of a team that has led nationwide legal initiatives creating programs to help convict criminals in organized retail crime and the conversion of stolen goods in the scrap recycling industry. Finally, I had a career as a mortgage banker for nine years before going to law school as well as serving seven years on the board of a nonprofit called Hope House in Crownsville, Maryland, that specialized in the treatment of substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and gambling addiction.

Not only will I bring a transparent, honest approach to the bench, where every case that comes before me will be heard fairly, on its merits, and without bias, but I will also bring a multifaceted background in law so that you will have someone on the bench who is able to service any variety of case that comes before me. Why is that important? Only 28% of the total cases heard by the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in 2022 were of the criminal variety; 72% were civil, family law or “other.” Most of you have never had the occasion to come before the circuit court. If you do, know that you will have an experienced practitioner on the bench to hear your case if I am elected.

What are the biggest challenges facing the circuit court?

Here are a couple of things that come to mind:

1. Continuing to expand on options to the court to help those who are convicted of non-violent criminal offenses and suffer from mental health and substance abuse disorders. Recidivism for non-violent offenses can often be substantially reduced through the use and intervention of special programs to help those in need, such as drug, mental health, and veterans’ courts.

At present, the circuit court has a drug court and veterans court that has shown results and promise in reducing recidivism. The court needs to continue having more options and resources available in such special circumstances to reduce recidivism by providing judicially supervised treatment to those offenders in need of help, thereby reducing the social and economic cost of their criminal activity.

2. Access to and help in civil matters for those less fortunate or with limited means who would normally come before the circuit court. In criminal matters, the accused have the Office of the Public Defender as an option. In the civil context, legal aid is the only real viable option at the moment. Creating a more robust option and access in this space would greatly help those with limited means.
3. The lack of public confidence in the justice system. The bench needs more judges with multifaceted experience who are willing to give back to the community. Too many times, career prosecutors with no experience outside of that space are appointed to the bench and have to learn on the fly or avoid such matters, if possible, without having the proper experience. Additionally, a more well-rounded background and experience skill set tends to provide more empathy and sincerity in the process because of the ability to draw from actual experiences in such matters.
4. The lack of transparency in the judges’ decisions on the bench. There is a dearth of accountability in the bench for the public to easily see. The judge of the circuit court election is for a 15-year term. Yet the general public cannot easily see, find or review a report card on each judge on the circuit court or see how many cases of a particular judge are overturned each year.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?

I am one of five siblings born to parents who immigrated from Ireland. I am a lifelong Marylander, and I have lived in Anne Arundel County for over 25 years. I love Anne Arundel County. I have raised my family here, and I have a lot of extended family from both my and my wife’s side that live and raise families in Anne Arundel County, as well as countless friends. I have volunteered as a youth coach for over eight years at Truxton Park, for the Boys & Girls Clubs, and for St. Mary’s.

It pains me to hear about all of the crime seeping into our neighborhoods, people feeling unsafe to leave their homes at night, carjackings and thefts occurring in our elderly, over-55 communities, and ATM thefts (either at the machine or people followed from the ATM to other locations and then robbed). I want to make a difference.

I want to make a difference in the lives of the following:

1. The accused (to hopefully play a part in changing their outlook on life)
2. In the injured party or parties (to help them through the process)
3. Citizens of Anne Arundel County who deserve to have safe streets to raise their families

Christine Celeste

You were appointed to the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in 2022. What are you most proud of since that time?

I am most proud of the fact that I regularly receive compliments from court staff, sheriff's deputies, and lawyers who appear before me regarding my handling of difficult cases. I have established a reputation for being well versed in the law, a patient and attentive listener, and for fairly and impartially applying the law to the facts of each case. I believe that my success is largely because I spent my career as an attorney trying circuit court cases.

The circuit court has a wide-ranging impact, handling civil and criminal cases, family cases, appeals and more. What else would you like people to know about the responsibilities of the circuit court?

Expanding upon the areas that you mentioned, the circuit court hears all jury trials, including felony criminal trials and high-value civil cases. Circuit court judges must be intimately familiar with the rules of evidence and procedure for these wide-ranging cases because they are called upon to make swift and accurate decisions when ruling on objections to questions and to the admissibility of evidence. Judges determine what evidence can be properly considered by the jury.

What are the biggest challenges facing the circuit court?

The greatest challenge facing the court is the number of self-represented litigants who appear before the court. Many self-represented litigants have difficulty effectively presenting their cases. I address this challenge by explaining the trial process to self-represented litigants, identifying the burden of proof that applies in their case, and by explaining the methods for introducing evidence and challenging the opposing party's evidence.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?

As a current circuit court judge, I have presided over hundreds if not thousands of civil, criminal and family law cases. My success as a judge is a result of my 20-year career as an attorney, trying cases before circuit courts across the state and in federal tribunals.

I spent my career in public service. I was a prosecutor for 15 years, three of which I spent on a detail to the United States Attorneys’ Offices, where I tried complex criminal cases. I tried civil cases for two years as an assistant bar counsel, where I held attorneys accountable for violating ethics rules. Immediately prior to my appointment, I worked in the Office of the Chief Counsel to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where I represented the agency in employment litigation and a varied portfolio of other cases.

The skills I developed analyzing and trying cases as an attorney prepared me well for my role on the bench. Because of my excellent reputation as an attorney, I was appointed by the governor after having gone through an extensive vetting process where members of the legal community recommended my appointment. I have been privileged to serve the citizens of Anne Arundel County for the past 23 months and ask community members to vote for me and my running mate, judge Ginina Jackson-Stevenson, so that we can continue serving the community. I cannot overstate the importance of keeping experienced, qualified judges on the court.

Ginina Jackson-Stevenson

You were appointed to the circuit court in 2023. What are you most proud of since that time?

I am proud to serve the citizens of Anne Arundel County in a different capacity. Every day that I take the bench, I am able to accomplish my goal of helping to reduce the number of cases that are docketed by being fair, impartial and applying the law of the state of Maryland. Additionally, at the conclusion of every matter that I preside over, I always try to leave the litigants with a feeling of hopefulness.

The circuit court handles everything from civil and criminal cases to family cases, appeals and more. What else would you like people to know about the responsibilities of the circuit court?

In addition to the cases listed above, the circuit court also handles adoptions, guardianship cases, special immigration juvenile status and a specialty court, which is drug court. The court also assists those who have language barriers and other disabilities that would prevent them from fully participating in their presiding. Our law library also has attorneys to assist self-represented litigants with their cases.

What are the biggest challenges facing the circuit court?

There is an increasing number of self-represented litigants that are not knowledgeable of the law that governs their case. The law library and self-help center does an excellent job at assisting the litigants, however, there is always a need for more attorneys.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?

I am committed to serving the people who come into my courtroom with respect, dignity and civility. A vote for me means that the decisions individuals receive in their cases are rendered according to the facts of the case and the law.