County judge negotiated job with prosecutors while presiding

Plus: Police Accountability Board discusses proposed traffic stop bill, Montgomery Parks gets funding from General Assembly

April 21, 2023 10:00 a.m.

County judge quietly negotiated job with prosecutors while hearing cases

At least four cases handled by a Montgomery County judge are being challenged after he presided over a series of hearings and did not reveal he was in talks to accept a job in the office of local prosecutors. 

For more than six weeks, according to court documents and recorded proceedings, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton never disclosed he had discussed, negotiated and accepted a position with State’s Attorney John McCarthy’s office as chief of his Felony Trial Division. Boynton started that high-ranking job in February, days after retiring from the bench. 

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One sentencing in question includes the high-profile case of a Magruder High School student who shot and nearly killed another teen in a bathroom. In that hearing, Boynton ruled from the bench as McCarthy sat in the front row of the gallery.

[The Washington Post]

Police Accountability Board debates new controversial traffic stop bill

Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando says the issue he is raising is personal. He says being a person of color shouldn’t make you a victim on the road. 

“I have been pulled over dozens of times in my life for no other reason than someone thought I was looking at a place, or something was going on, or there was a registration issue with my car,” Jawando said. “We have a report from our legislative office of oversight that shows that Black and Latino members are pulled over disproportionately for these low-level offenses.” 

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Montgomery County’s newly formed Police Accountability Board held a conversation Thursday night with Jawando on his new traffic stop bill. Jawando introduced the bill in February, saying it would prevent drivers from being pulled over for some of those low-level offenses — effectively prohibiting traffic stops for minor offenses, like an expired registration or license, window tinting, defective headlamps or taillights and signs or posters on windshields.

[WJLA]

State awards Montgomery Parks almost $5.5 million for 13 projects

Montgomery Parks received $5.495 million in capital funding for 13 projects from the state during the legislative session that recently closed.

The funding will go for trail and bridge projects, playground and athletic field improvements, sports court and skatepark amenities, community garden and picnic facilities, environmental restoration and ADA enhancements.

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[Montgomery Community Media]

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Partly cloudy with a high of 88

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