The names of four candidates for a Howard County Circuit Court judgeship, two of them attorneys in the county prosecutor's office and two who hear juvenile and other matters for the court, have been forwarded to Gov. Martin O'Malley by a committee that vets applicants for the bench.
Judge Diane O. Leasure, who has been a Circuit Court judge since 1995, is leaving this week, though she is expected to return to hear cases in retirement.
The governor must select a judge from the list given to him by the Judicial Nominating Commission. The candidates are Mary Virginia Murphy, a deputy state's attorney; Frank Todd Taylor Jr., a senior state's attorney; and Marlys Elaine Patrick and William Vincent Tucker, both court masters.