PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD — Although the five sitting judges in the Prince George’s County Circuit Court are up for election, or in the case of Judge Cathy Serrette, re-election, separately, they are running as a slate.
Judge Bryon Bereano, Judge Wytonja Curry, Judge ShaRon Kelsey, Judge Jared McCarthy, and Judge Cathy Serrette who make up the slate, were originally appointed to the bench by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan after undergoing a rigorous vetting process.
Aside from experience on the bench as current sitting Circuit Court judges running to keep their seats or obtain a second term in the case of Judge Serrette, they have an extensive, albeit diverse legal background.
Judge Bereano practiced law for nearly 20 years and served as a law clerk to retired federal Judge Alex Williams, Jr. While president of the Prince George's County Bar Association, he spearheaded one of the first county expungement clinics. He also served as a District Court Judge for nearly 4 years as the Civil Coordinating Judge for more than 2 years.
Working as a litigator for over 20 years, Judge Curry has left her mark both in and out of the courtroom. She’s worked on over 1,000 cases, more than 300 of those having gone to trial before judges throughout the Maryland state and federal courts. In November 2018, she was the first person appointed to the Prince George’s County Circuit Court directly from a position as house counsel.
Before her appointment as an Associate Judge on the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Judge Kelsey managed Kelsey and DeBerry, The Kelsey Law Firm and Kelsey Realty, Inc for 25 years. She also served as a hearing examiner for the county’s school board (2015-2016), as a commissioner on the liquor board (2017-2019) and represented the county with respect to all child abuse and neglect cases. She also served as an adjunct professor for UMUC (now UMGC) and as treasurer for Delegate Erek Barron.
Judge McCarthy served as County Attorney, the chief legal advisor, for County Executives Rushern L. Baker, III and Angela Alsobrooks. He has served the citizens of the County as a public servant for 13 years and worked in the County since 2002.
Judge Serrette leads the Model Court for abused and neglected children; co-founded the WMF Re-entry Conference; and coordinated the Court’s Family Division for 8 years. An accomplished jurist, she spearheaded the creation of the County’s Family Justice Center for victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault and elder abuse and addresses issues faced by immigrant children in our courts.
This year’s elections are June 2, 2020 and the slate of five (5) sitting judges is being challenged by two (2) local attorneys. It will be an election by mail due to the precautions taken under the coronavirus pandemic.
Listen to the five seated judges talk with 104.7 WONK FM's Jen Richer about their experience working together here:
,quality(10),blur(50))