ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced appointments to the Washington County Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission. D. Bruce Poole will serve as chair.
“I am confident that the Washington County Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission will benefit from the talent and expertise of these appointees, who will work with the utmost fairness to strengthen our justice system,”
said Gov. Moore. “I thank the appointees for answering the call to serve the people of Washington County.”
There are sixteen Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commissions established by executive order. The commissions advertise judicial vacancies, seek recommendations for judicial candidates from their own membership, bar associations and members of the general public, set closing dates for the submission of the judicial applications, and evaluate applicants based on a variety of factors including their integrity, temperament, legal knowledge, and professional experience.
Governor Moore’s appointees to the Washington County Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission include:
D. Bruce Poole, ChairD. Bruce Poole is the managing partner of the Poole Law Group. He also serves as local counsel with the MDL opioid consortium and represents Allegany County, Frostburg, Cumberland, Washington County, Hagerstown and St. Mary’s County. He is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and is the youngest member ever to serve as the House Majority Leader. Poole previously served as a member of the Maryland State Ethics Commission and was a member of the Washington County Board of Education Ethics Panel. He is currently the chairman of the University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center’s Board of Visitors and is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System Foundation Board. Poole received his J.D. from the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Mary C. BaykanMary C. Baykan has had over thirty years experience in library management and development. She is currently the director emeritus of the Washington County Free Library System and the executive director emeritus of the Western Maryland Public Libraries. Baykan served as the president of both the Maryland Library Association and the Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators. She also served on the board of Leadership Hagerstown and was the commissioner of the State Library of Maryland Commission. Baykan received her M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida, and her M.B.A. in Business Administration from Frostburg State University.
David Charles Harbin David Charles Harbin is a partner at the Harbin Law Office. He is a former assistant public defender in Frederick and Washington Counties and served on the board of directors of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. He is the current president of the Washington County Bar Association. In 2022, he was appointed to sit on the Board of Trustees of the Office of the Public Defender. He received his J.D. from Duquesne University.
Erika Garrott JohnsonErika Garrott Johnson is a partner with Greivell & Garrott Johnson, LLC. She is also a certified mediator. In addition, she serves as an attorney at the Family Law Self Help Clinic. Prior to joining her current firm, she was an associate at several Washington County-based firms where she practiced family and criminal law. She also served as a law clerk for the Washington County Circuit Court. She received her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Brian A. Kane Brian A. Kane is a shareholder at Kane & Stone, P.A. He has a family law practice. He was previously an associate at Poole & Kane, P.A. where he had a general civil practice with a concentration on family law. He also serves as court appointed child counsel in contested custody cases for the Circuit Courts of Washington, Worcester and Somerset counties. Kane is a pro bono attorney for Kids in Need of Defense, Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Services, and Maryland Legal Aid. He is currently a member of the Supreme Court of Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, and is a member of the Attorney Grievance Commission. He was also an adjunct professor at Hagerstown Community College teaching paralegal studies. Kane received his J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law.
Paul Francis Kemp Paul Francis Kemp is a partner with Ethridge, Quinn, Kemp, Rowan & Hartinger. Prior to joining private practice, he served as a public defender with the Maryland Public Defender’s Office, an assistant state’s attorney with the State’s Attorney’s Office for Montgomery County, and deputy federal public defender for the District of Maryland. He is also the past president of the Montgomery County Bar Association and has served as a member of the executive committee and the chairman of its Criminal Law Section. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Governors and served as president of the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He received his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Sarah McKelvey Mollett-GaumerSarah McKelvey Mollett-Gaumer is a deputy state’s attorney for Washington County. In addition to handling a full felony caseload, she also handles general operations and administration for the office. She was previously an associate with Powell Flynn, LLP where she had a general civil practice. Mollett-Gaumer served as a law clerk for the Honorable M.K. Long, Jr. of the Washington County Circuit Court, and is a past secretary of the Washington County Bar Association. Mollett-Gaumer received her J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law.
Tereance Rayshaun Moore Tereance Rayshaun Moore is the founder and center director for Mediation First, Inc., a Hagerstown-based organization providing affordable access to community mediation services, training and education. Moore is additionally founder and co-chair of the Western Maryland Community Development Corporation, and the owner of Tereance Moore Consulting, LLC. He serves on the board of directors for the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Washington County, Community Mediation Maryland, the Greater Hagerstown Committee, Hospice of Washington County, the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights' Western Maryland Advisory Council.
Aitza Haddad Núñez, Ph.D. Aitza Haddad Núñez is the founder and director of Friendly Law, Inc., a nonprofit providing future, current, and former low-income law students with opportunities and assistance to begin in their professional legal career. Dr. Haddad additionally serves as an adjunct professor at Hagerstown Community College where she teaches English as a second or foreign language, and as a high school Spanish teacher with the Washington County Public School System. Prior to joining Hagerstown Community College, Dr. Haddad worked as a teaching associate/adjunct lecturer at Howard University. She is currently an editorial board member for the Communication, Society and Media Journal and was a policy fellow with the National Hispanic Media Coalition. Dr. Haddad received her J.D. from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico Law School and received her Ph.D. from the Howard University School of Communication.
R. David PembrokeR. David Pembroke is a solo practitioner with a general practice focusing on criminal and family law. Before starting his own firm, he worked as an associate with a general trial practice with two Washington County-based firms. He is currently on the Faculty Advisory Board of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services and is a former member of the Washington County Domestic Violence Coalition. Pembroke also served as a member of the U.S. Air Force and attended flight school at the Mather Air Force Base in California. He received his J.D. from Antioch University School of Law.
Alison Christine PeteraneczAlison Christine Peteranecz is a partner with the Antietam Law Group, LLC. Upon graduating from law school, Peteranecz clerked for the Honorable Daniel P. Dwyer and the Honorable Dana Moylan Wright in the Circuit Court for Washington County, Maryland. She has worked as a law clerk at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, is a certified Child Counsel Attorney, and previously worked for ICF International to assist with the housing recovery program in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Peteranecz received her J.D. from Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law.
Thomas Edward Robins Thomas Edward Robins is the district court supervising attorney for the Office of the Public Defender in Washington County. He has also served as a Public Defender in Baltimore where he worked in the Appellate Division, and as a public defender in Pennsylvania. Earlier in his career Robins also worked as a litigation attorney at several small Pennsylvania law firms. He served as a law clerk in the Wilmington Delaware Family Court and was an adjunct professor at Hagerstown Community College. Robins received his J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, with honors.
Margaret Lynn WilliamsMargaret Lynn Williams is a solo practitioner in Washington County with a general practice concentrating on family law. Before starting her own firm, Williams was a partner at Barton & Williams, LLC. She previously served as the executive director of the Child Advocacy Center in Washington, D.C. and was the first female president of the Washington County Bar Association. Williams is a Washington County Chamber of Commerce board member, a member of Habitat for Humanity and a former member of the Attorney Grievance Commission Peer Review Panel. Williams received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law School.