New Baltimore City Judge Pamela White says she pledges to be fair and compassionate when making decisions in the busiest courthouse in Maryland.
“I plan to listen dispassionately, make sure I learn the law and apply the facts to the law, and decide compassionately what the impact of my decisions will be,” she said.
White is one of two new judges recently appointed by outgoing Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich to theBaltimore City Circuit Court, bringing it to a full staff of 32 judges.
Along with White, federal prosecutor George Russell III also was appointed.
“I?m one happy lady,” said White, who is a graduate of Washington and Lee School of Law. “While I love practicing law, the ultimate public service opportunity to me would be to serve on the bench. I think I can be a service to the work, and I get to work in the city that I love.”
Russell and White will succeed former Judges Clifton Gordy and Joseph McCurdy Jr., who both retired in November.
“George [Russell] is an outstanding lawyer, but more important than that, he is completely committed to the city of Baltimore,” U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said. Russell could not be reached for comment.
The new judges will serve until November 2008, when they will stand for election to 15-year terms.
White is chairwoman of the Employment Law Group in the Baltimore City firm of Ober|Kaler Grimes & Shriver. She is also a past president of the Maryland State Bar Association and Women?s Bar Association of Maryland.
Russell, a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, specializes in criminal prosecution at the Maryland U.S. Attorney?s Office for the District of Maryland.
“These individuals bring expert knowledge of the law and years of experience in trial work to the bench,” Ehrlich said in a statement.
