My Platform for Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge 2022
I am Thomas P. Johnson, III a lawyer, advocate for mental health and disability services, admitted to the US Veterans’ Court of Appeals, former teacher, former clerk for Legal Aid in Louisiana, and a distinguished member of the Montgomery County community.
I believe in judicial and criminal reform under the law.
I believe judges must consider the purpose and the potential harm of bail and pretrial incarcerations for low income and non-violent suspects.
I believe families should be kept together under normal circumstances, NOT when there is evidence of abuse.
I am committed to the well-being of children, I have a twenty-one year old son, and taught high school math in Louisiana. In Montgomery County, 15% of people identify as black, while nearly 90% of the students that are arrested by school safety officers, are black males. Most of the safety officers have been trained in law enforcement not in education or de-escalation. Having seen the necessity for mental health care and mental health professionals on site, many schools still do not have the necessary resources to remediate these issues. However neither expulsion nor imprisonment of children produces better students, alternative measures involving the child, their parents/guardians, and health care professionals must be found.
I have successfully litigated against police officers for misconduct.
I did NOT receive the endorsement of Montgomery County Police Union. Police officers should be treated like any ordinary citizen as witnesses, plaintiffs, and defendants. Qualified immunity is an optional precedent, not law.
Most appointed sitting judges have received Montgomery County Police Union’s endorsement. All believe in qualified immunity.
All four sitting judges contend they have gone through the “vetting process”. This is supposed to qualify them over the other candidates. The Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission is composed of 14 seats with 13 currently filled. All members of the Nominating Commission are selected by the Governor, and they are responsible for determining candidates for the Governor to select from. The appointed judges then participate in a non-partisan election one year following their appointment and then every fifteen years on the bench.
There has not been a black male serving as judge in Montgomery County in 6 years. Meanwhile, 70% of incarcerated persons in Maryland are African Americans, the vast majority of them men. I am the only candidate with their lived experience.
Although this election is non-partisan, for transparency, I am a registered Democrat. All candidates should be forthcoming about this information as it should have no bearing on their judgements or their campaign.
I am the only candidate running for judge whose campaign is self-funded and grassroots organized by those willing to donate their time and effort to a fair judicial system.
Send a message to the four sitting judges about how the system SHOULD work: they must go through the electoral process!
As a community member and advocate, I ask for your support . Do something disruptive! VOTE!
All messaging on this website approved by Thomas P. Johnson III Circuit Court Judicial Committee
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