Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure, 56, handles a full docket of daily cases while acting as the administrative judge for the Fifth Judicial Circuit for Anne Arundel, Carroll and Howard counties. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert Bell appointed Leasure to the bench in 2002. Born in Cumberland, she began her professional career as a New Jersey middle school teacher before graduating in 1982 from Rutgers University School of Law.
What are the challenges of your job?
In Howard County, we?ve been doing an overhaul of our case management system so cases are resolved in a more timely fashion.
And I carry a full caseload, same as the other judges, so time management is difficult.
But I have always put a real premium on the time I spend with my family.
Have your personal values ever influenced your judgment?
I thought that would be the case when I first became a judge.
You come to any job with your own valuesin place, but I?ve found our value system might not be the same as somebody else?s.
I approach each case with its own set of facts.
Have you ever regretted a ruling?
The most difficult decisions … are custody decisions, because we really don?t know the children or families that well, but the decisions that we are making having lasting effects. Those are the ones you lose sleep over, because there really is no good decision.
If you weren?t a judge, what would you be?
I would love to be a professional photographer. It?s a real hobby of mine, and I love the creativity you have with photography.
