THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 r
Rupp hoping voters return him to the bench Judge founded Adult Drug Treatment Court program
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BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD STAFF WRITER
On Tuesdays, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. takes off his “judge face,” steps out of the courtroom and enters the classroom to teach third-year law school students how to be trial lawyers. On Thursday nights, he’s back in court for his other “second job” as presiding judge for Montgomery County Circuit Court’s Adult Drug Treatment Court Program, which he founded in 2004. But come election day, the question of whether Rupp gets to keep Rupp his main job — one of Montgomery County’s 22 Circuit Court judges — will be left to voters. For the first time in 10 years, sitting Circuit Court judges up for election will face a challenger. Poolesville attorney Daniel Patrick Connell — the same person who sought judgeship a decade ago — has filed for candidacy for 2014. Maryland’s primary election is June 24. The general election is Nov. 4. Rupp, 64, is among the four sitting Circuit Court judges whose names will appear on the June primary ballot. The sitting judges are running as a team. “We hope the people will have faith in the system that has appointed us to Circuit Court,” Rupp said. In Maryland, Circuit Court judges are appointed by the governor from a pool of nominees chosen by a 13-member committee. But after the appointment, Circuit Court judges have to run in the nearest election to their appointments in order to
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Continued from Page A-1 alleviate its symptoms. Today, as many as 4 million Americans are living with this disease, according to the foundation’s website. “Ever since Paula was diagnosed and after we went to our first national patient con-
“The world of academics is one thing, but when you get out in the real world, it’s a whole other thing.” Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. continue for a 15-year term. Thereafter, the judges are up for election. Appointees can be formally opposed by any qualified candidate. To run as a Circuit Court judge, a candidate must be 30 years old and be a member of the state bar, in addition to meeting residency requirements, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. Circuit Court is the local trial court that typically handles more serious cases. Rupp was appointed by Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) in 1997. Prior to that, he was appointed as a Montgomery County District Court judge by Gov. William Donald Schaefer (D) in 1993. Rupp said he founded drug court in 2004 because there were defendants who were becoming known as “all-stars,” people with drug problems who kept appearing in the court system over and over again. Prior to drug court, judges didn’t have many options for offenders struggling with addictions, Rupp said. “The traditional system doesn’t sufficiently address addicted offenders,” Rupp said. The Montgomery County Circuit Court Adult Drug Court Program is a voluntary program that offers repeat offenders the chance to break the cycle of addiction and crime through intensive treatment and monitoring. A team made up of case managers, judges, therapists and attorneys work
together to direct the participant’s evaluation and treatment for a minimum of two years, though the length of the program depends on the participant’s progress. Drug court sessions are held at night so that participants can keep a job, one of the requirements of the program. “It’s about changing the whole person,” Rupp said. “It’s not just about staying clean.” Since the program’s inception, 137 people have graduated from drug court. He became emotional when talking to The Gazette about some of the former graduates. “Every one of these graduates has a story,” Rupp said. Outside the courtroom, Rupp deals with a different sort of aspiring graduates. He’s an adjunct professor for a civil and criminal practice at American University, where he’s taught since 1998. “I don’t have on my judge face on in there,” Rupp said. “It helps to see the judge is a real person.” At the time of his interview with The Gazette, his students were preparing for the final — a staged trial on April 6. Rupp earned his law degree from AU’s Washington College of Law in 1974. He said he decided to go into law because he wanted to help people. “The world of academics is one thing, but when you get out in the real world, it’s a whole other thing,” Rupp said. The son of a dentist and a stay-at-home mother, Rupp graduated from BethesdaChevy Chase High School in 1966. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1974 and has served as an assistant state’s attorney and as a public defender in Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties, as well as working for private firms. Becoming a judge, Rupp said, gave him another avenue for helping improve the human condition—something he hopes voters remembers when they head to the polls. “I hope they look at my record, my history,” Rupp said. tarnold@gazette.net
cording to Marc Sosin. On Tuesday, ice cream lovers flooded the store around lunch time and more were expected later in the evening until 8 p.m. The most popular flavor of the day was chocolate chip cookie dough, Marc Sosin said. “More important than even raising money is raising awareness of the disease,” he
ference in 2009, we knew we wanted to make a difference,” Bonnie Sosin wrote in an email to The Gazette. For the past four years, the Sosins have hosted free cone day at Ben and Jerry’s, with customers’ donations going to the foundation that is based in Bethesda. The cone day brings in about $1,200 each year and about 4,000 customers, ac-
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said. Steve Taylor, CEO of the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation, helped greet customers at the event Tuesday. “This is a very tricky disease to diagnose. The challenge for us is we are the most common unknown disease,” he said. kbrick@gazette.net
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Bair hopes experience will resonate with voters ‘People’s money and freedom are in your hands’ n
BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD STAFF WRITER
For an attorney, getting to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court is like going to the Super Bowl. And Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Gary E. Bair has been there twice. “That’s the highlight of your legal career,” said Bair, who worked as an attorney for more than 30 years before being appointed as a Circuit Judge in 2012. On election day, Bair hopes his broad background in criminal law will be an effective selling point for voters — the ones who will determine whether or not he gets to Bair keep his job as a judge in November. For the first time in 10 years, the circuit judge race will be contested. Bair and the three other appointed circuit judges are running as a slate against challenger Daniel Patrick Connell, an attorney from Poolesville. “You want the most highly qualified lawyers to be your judges,” Bair said. “People’s money and freedom are in your hands.” Bair argued before Supreme Court justices in 2003, toward the end of his 21-year stint with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. At the time, he was solicitor general, head of the criminal appeals division. The first case, which appeared before the court on March 24, 2003, involved a defendant who argued convincingly that his attorneys failed to adequately defend him because they didn’t mention his troubled childhood to the panel of jurors who sentenced him to death. The second, on Nov. 3, 2003,
was a search and seizure case involving a traffic stop that turned up cash and a large amount of cocaine. Three people in the vehicle were arrested, bringing about the legal question of whether police had probable cause to arrest any of them. The Supreme Court justices unanimously determined that there was probable cause for an arrest. In 2004, Bair left the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for private practice. He joined the fiveattorney firm as partner with Fred Warren Bennett, his courtroom adversary back in the early 1980s. Bair was working as an assistant public defender in Prince George’s County. Bennett was a prosecutor. Bair kept running the firm after Bennett’s death in 2007. He said he was beginning to miss being in the public sphere. “You don’t have the same broad impact,” Bair said. In 2012, the retirement of Circuit Judge Thomas L. Craven gave him an opening. In Maryland, judges are appointed by the governor, though circuit judges still have to stand in contested elections. Bair said he applied to be a nominee because he was seeking a new challenge and because he was getting older. Maryland judges are required to retire when they reach age 70. Bair was 61 at the time. “If I want to do this,” Bair recalled thinking, “I’ve got to do this sooner than later.” Bair grew up in Baltimore County and was a 1968 graduate of Woodlawn High School. He said he was the first in his family to go away to college. He earned an English degree from Tulane University in 1972 and graduated from Georgetown University law school in 1976. He clerked for Appeals Judge J. Dudley Digges. Bair said that being a judge has enabled him to help others. “It sounds like a cliche,” Bair said, “but it’s a humbling experience. It’s the people every day. In court, you’re constantly reminded that people are entrusting you with their lives.” tarnold@gazette.netS