December 19th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

Allegany County District Court  Judge Edward “Ted” Malloy, who began his time on the bench 16 years ago this month, will be retiring  early next year,  and the names of potential replacements are already surfacing.  Malloy hits the mandatory  retirement age of 70 in February.  Once the judgeship is officially posted as open- which has not happened yet- the local judiciary committee will accept letters of interest and conduct interviews. The candidate, or candidates,  garnering enough  votes from the committee will have their name sent to the Governor for his consideration.    Although not a traditional “political”  seat- party affiliation often plays a role in judicial appointments- and its expected that the state’s Republican governor Larry Hogan would most likely tab a republican to fill the judgeship.  Among the names already circulating as having an active interest: assistant state’s attorney Erich Bean; Cumberland City Solicitor Michael Cohen;  James Spies, Magistrate for Domestic Relations; Jayci Shaw Duncan; Ramani Pallai; and Jamie Walsh.