Yard Sign Locations Wanted in AA Co.!

I'm looking for yard sign locations anywhere in AA Co.

They're very attractive signs and look something like the attached .pdf

Please let me know if you have a yard or grass in front of your home or business, or even a window that would look good with one of these prominently displayed for passing traffic and I'd be happy to deliver it!

Any questions, please feel free to PM me.

Thanks!



-Rob

Friends for Rob Burton
Michael Macleay, Treasurer

I have Judge Crooks signs at my home , if you are not running as opposition you can place signs at my business . AA County near city/county line . Ft. Smallwood Rd. Approx. 23,000 cars a day pass thru .

IIRC, there are multiple positions open. Not finding the details at the moment.

Corrected... I was thinking a different court and judges.

There is one seat up for grabs and I am absolutely trying to unseat Mark Crooks for good reason.

I’ll post a detailed explanation later tonight.

-Rob


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Duh... I had my head in the last cycle.

BurtonRW said:

There is one seat up for grabs and I am absolutely trying to unseat Mark Crooks for good reason.

I’ll post a detailed explanation later tonight.

-Rob


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Click to expand...

I’m curious to see the explanation. I’ve had nothing but positive interactions with Judge Crooks, and even though sometimes I may not agree with a decision, he’s always provided an opinion that makes his findings understandable. The states attorneys love him, so that should tell you something.

As promised - here's a reasonably specific, but not too detailed explanation of how I came to run for Circuit Court Judge against Mark Crooks:

I was approached back in August by a small group of colleagues who were looking for a candidate to run against Judge Crooks. I didn't know anything about Judge Crooks and hadn't appeared before him in his brief time on the bench, so I listened as they told me a little bit about him.

In broad strokes, Mark Crooks' legal career began with his time as a New York State Prosecutor. From there, he went federal and became an AUSA, still in New York. Eventually, he moved to the Baltimore US Attorney's office and worked for several years for Rod Rosenstein, prosecuting federal cases in the Greenbelt and Baltimore federal courts. Apparently, Governor-elect Hogan approached Rosenstein looking for a couple of attorneys for his cabinet. Rosenstein, in turn, asked Crooks if he was interested, and from there, Crooks would become Hogan's deputy legal counsel for approximately 18 months before being appointed by the Governor to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.

To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, Mark Crooks has never appeared as attorney of record, let alone tried a case in any Maryland district or circuit court. See for yourself: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/casesearch/inquirySearch.jis The two records in which he appears are lis pendens filings he made as an AUSA.

His lack of experience in Maryland courts prior to his appointment to the Circuit Court doesn't sit well with many attorneys.

Even more motivating for the group that approached me were examples of some of his rulings in civil matters. I listened to them, but also asked to review hearing transcripts. I want to be very careful not to comment on specific cases, but suffice it to say, I was convinced after reading the transcripts.

Whether from his lack of experience in Maryland courts, statutes, and rules, or whether it is due to his general lack of experience with any legal area outside of criminal prosecution, I agreed with them that Crooks wasn't ready for the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

I filed on November 7th and was his only challenger until two more joined the race at the end of January followed by three more who filed immediately prior to the filing deadline.

It really comes down to lack of local knowledge & experience, combined with enough poor rulings in civil matters that he's caught the attention of attorneys from both the plaintiffs' and defense bars. As for the support he has from the State's Attorney's office, that was certainly the case at first. Perhaps because he's not afraid to sentence people to sensible terms of incarceration? Honestly - anyone can do that. Not all do, but anyone can. I would hope the State's Attorney's office would be just as pleased with any of us. Since I'm free to discuss my judicial philosophy as long as I stay away from specific issues, I'm happy to announce that I have no particular compunction about incarcerating individuals who are found guilty of crimes punishable by the same following a fair trial. No difference between us there. Besides, as far as I'm aware, Wes hasn't formally endorsed him (has he?), which should also tell you something.

When four of the sitting judges were running to remain in office two years ago, they had ONE challenger. ONE challenger for FOUR available seats. Mark Crooks has SIX challengers for ONE seat. That speaks volumes to me.

Since I filed, I've developed my own reasons - independent of what convinced me to pull the trigger - for putting up this fight. When I was the only one running against him, Crooks' campaign put out a mailer that indicated his opponent (unnamed) was backed by "powerful special interests". That was amusing and certainly news to me, since I had the backing of a group of about half a dozen fellow attorneys and $1,000 in my campaign account at the time.

When I introduced myself as a candidate to the members of the Anne Arundel County Bar Association by way of a letter, he posted to his facebook page a copy of the paragraph pointing out his lack of experience in Maryland courts (mind you, my letter was to fellow attorneys), and claimed to have significant experience trying cases in Maryland courts while decyring my allegedly deceitful and misleading tactics. I forget the exact language used, but his claim was walked back to "scores" of cases tried in Maryland courts when a couple of replies pointed out that I had specifically referenced Maryland courts, not federal courts geographically located in Maryland. Of course, most of his non-attorney facebook followers might not appreciate the distinction and I have yet to see any evidence of those "scores" of cases, either, although I'm happy to be corrected. No matter. It appears that the exchange has been scrubbed from his facebook page at this point.

Other head-scratching moments have included the Peroutka fundrasier debacle in which he was photographed with Roy Moore. He has publicly insisted that he was there by invitation and goes to all fundraisers, etc., that he can. Recently, he told a democrat political club that his attendance was even less formal than that - specifically, that he was actually on his way to a Gavin Buckley fundraiser when he got a call to divert to the Peroutka fundraiser because big money donors would be there. A minor detail? Perhaps.

I was also amused when he told the same democrat political club that he thought Rod Rosenstein was joking about him interviewing with the Governor since he had always been a democrat. He's certainly happy to discuss his work for the Governor and his subsequent appointment without mentioning that little tidbit - until he's in front of the right audience.

That's not all, but it's all I'm comfortable discussing here at this time, and it's enough that I'm not comfortable with him on the bench.

Bottom line is, I thank Mark Crooks for his service in the Navy and applaud the work he did prosecuting bad cops and other criminals in New York and as an AUSA, but that alone should not be enough to qualify one for a seat on a Maryland Circuit Court bench, which involves much, much more than the criminal docket.

Many people don't realize that nearly every administrative issue from most all state, county, and local boards or agencies will also be adjudicated by the Circuit Courts on appeal. Local knowledge and experience is important for proper and efficient adjudication of these matters as well as all manner of other civil matters which the Circuit Court is asked to resolve.

Crooks is certainly mobilizing his base and he tells a good story, but he's not right for Anne Arundel County from what I've seen. I admit that he would be the easy choice if I didn't know better, but the easy choice isn't always the best choice.

This evening, I'm having a fundraiser hosted by two former workers' compensation commissioners. One, a lifelong Republican and Ehrlich appointee. The other, a lifelong Democrat and Glendening appointee. It's sort of a targeted audience thing, but there will be folks other than attorneys there, so if you're free from 4-6 this evening and would like to swing by, shoot me a PM and I'll give you the address.

-Rob



Friends for Rob Burton
Michael Macleay, Treasurer

I buy the explanation and your presence here. As the parent of an '07 and '13 graduate, you get bonus points for AACS.

Corner lot in Arnold. Will PM the address.

Thank You for explaining your position and concerns .

I think you made it pretty clear as far as your stance on why you believe he’s not qualified. Can you give us some insight into who you are, where are your stances on issues that you see in the circuit court, and what makes you more qualified than him? Where have you practiced law, and what type of law have you practiced? Thanks for your time in that articulate and thought out explanation. Also I could be wrong but this seems like it would get more views and responses / questions if it were in a different section of this forum.

I just realized you had a link to your homepage with your background information, so disregard that part of my last post. My only question after reading your background is it appears you’ve done civil cases only. I saw it says minor criminal defense representation, but that’s a far stretch from the serious cases that are heard in circuit court. I understand circuit court has far more responsibilities than criminal, but in your explanation of why Judge Crooks is not qualified you bring up his criminal background. Seems as though to me you are saying he doesn’t have experience with civil, and you do..... but you don’t have experience with criminal, but he does. Unless I’m reading this wrong. I look forward to hearing your views. The fact that you’re a MDS member certainly could sway votes in your direction.

Anecdotal Commentary Alert...

Was out at the Ferndale Day parade today, walking with a candidate's crew, and noticed that Crooks had 20 or 25 folks out for the parade.

No one I spoke to among our group (including a Republican CC long-timer) had anything but derision toward Crooks. I got the distinct impression they believe he lives up to his name.