SNOW HILL – Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby last Friday was officially sworn in as the newest Worcester County Circuit Court Judge.
Oglesby, along with former Magistrate Mary Margaret “Peggy” Kent, was appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan in late December to fill one of two vacancies on the Worcester County Circuit Court bench created by the mandated retirement of long-time Circuit Court Judges Thomas Groton and Richard Bloxom. His investiture and official swearing in ceremony took place last Friday afternoon in the venerable old courthouse in Snow Hill in front of standing room-only crowd. The esteemed audience included several sitting and retired judges from across the Lower Shore and a veritable who’s who among the shore’s legal community.
Oglesby was officially presented for the position by local attorney and friend Hugh Cropper IV, Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack Commander Lt. Earl Starner and his long-time Deputy State’s Attorney, William H. McDermott, who shortly before the ceremony was named interim Worcester County state’s attorney to fill the void created by Oglesby’s appointment to the bench. The presenters each gave lengthy, heartfelt speeches on Oglesby’s behalf.
Following the presentation of the judge, Oglesby was officially sworn in as the newest Worcester County Circuit Court judge by Clerk of the Court Susan Braniecki. In perhaps the most poignant part of the ceremony, Oglesby was officially robed for the first time by his family including wife Anne, daughter Georgia and son Evan.
At the outset of the proceedings, Worcester County Circuit Court Administrative Judge Brian Shockley recognized Oglesby’s immediate predecessors on the bench and the impressive panel of distinguished current and former judges. Administrative Judge for the First Circuit Kathleen Beckstead then outlined some of her early encounters with Oglesby when he was a prosecutor in Wicomico and headed the county’s first adult drug treatment court.
“Throughout it all, Beau has shown a great sense of humor and humanity and he has learned to accept with grace decisions for the good of the order even though he may not agree completely with the outcome,” she said. “He is a true team player, and Beau, you are going to need all of those skills going forward. We on the bench look forward to offering you our advice and support and look forward to having you join us as you assume your new role.”
When it came time for the presentation of the judge element of the ceremony, Cropper was called to give the first speech. Cropper recalled first hearing the news Groton and Bloxom were retiring and the collective sense of dread in the local legal community on who might replace them. He said he and his colleagues liked the list of candidates, but really liked the final choices.
“I can honestly say that I was really happy with the list of potential judges, and even more happy with the decision to choose Judge Kent and soon-to-be Judge Oglesby,” he said. “I’m here today to vouch for my friend, Judge Oglesby, and tell you that I’m confident that he’s going to make an incredible judge. I can tell you for a fact that Beau is honest, he’s hard-working, he’s ethical, he’s even-handed and, as Judge Beckstead said, he insists on doing the right thing in all circumstances without question, even if it’s behind closed doors. He has no hidden agenda other than his desire to serve the public. He is genuinely a good person and will be an incredible judge.”
Cropper recalled an election night years ago when he was invited to the Oglesby home for a potential victory party and said what he found when he got there was symbolic of Oglesby’s straightforwardness and humility.
“I pulled up at his house and I said are we even at the right house?” he said. “There were only two or three cars there. I went in and Beau and Anne were sitting at the kitchen table watching the results on television. Now State’s Attorney Bill McDermott was hanging out in the kitchen. Everything was incredibly nice, but it wasn’t the grand scale victory party I anticipated. This really exemplifies Beau. There was no big strategy, no war room and no strategist. It was just Beau and his wife and a couple of close friends.”
When Starner was called to present a speech, he spoke at length about Oglesby’s commitment, dedication and work ethic and how the new judge exemplified many of the character traits he admires in his Maryland State Police charges. He evoked a State Police mantra about always striving do the right thing and said Oglesby exemplified those same traits.
“For the past eight years I have watched Beau publicly and privately behind the scenes,” he said. “And I have watched him always do the right thing for the right reasons. I have watched him treat everyone with dignity and respect and I’ve watched him provided dedicated support and assistance to his community.”
When it was his turn to speak, McDermott evoked the history and tradition in the venerable old courtroom in Snow Hill and some of the judges who had served in the many years past. He pointed to the portraits of former judges on the courtroom wall and said the former state’s attorney and soon-to-be judge had earned his place in that pantheon.
“Boss, you know that I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason,” he said. “That this moment right now with these people in this room is happening for a reason. I know not right now as I stand here how many people you’ll touch, how many lives you’ll change, how many lives you’ll save, but this moment is as much theirs as it is yours. You’ve earned this extraordinary place in history and when the day comes to hang your picture, may it be both of us who hang it together.”
At that point, Oglesby was officially sworn in and robed for the first time by his wife and children. When it was his turn to speak, Oglesby talked about his early college career as an accounting major and how he gravitated to a career in law almost by accident.
“I’ll start by telling you a secret,” he said, “and the secret is I only went to law school because I didn’t want to be an accountant. That’s a true story. Fortunately, it allowed me to take a business law class second semester, freshman year and that grabbed me, it bit me and it held onto me for the rest of my professional career.”
Oglesby said he never aspired at first to be a lawyer, and later a prosecutor, a state’s attorney and ultimately a Circuit Court judge.
“My legal path, I think, can only be defined, not as a series of aspirations or goals, but defined as a series of opportunities,” he said. “Not opportunities that I sought, not opportunities that I dreamed of as a child, rather, I believe as the product of professional and personal relationships, and those relationships opened doors, and those doors opened other doors.”
During his speech, Oglesby thanked the sitting and retired judges in the room, the legions of law enforcement officers and hordes of his colleagues and employees. He made special mention of the retired Groton and Bloxom and their contributions to what he had become.
“During my seven years here, you have both consistently demonstrated judicial temperament, patience, courtesy, compassion and intellect,” he said. “You’ve always applied your experience and common sense to the issues in cases that were before you and that resulted in setting an incredibly high standard. I thank you both for the example that you set for me in this capacity.”
Oglesby said when he climbed the three steps to reach the bench, he understood the symbolism of the raised bench, not as a status symbol but rather as vantage point, literally and figuratively
“My expectation is that the bench isn’t elevated because judges are better than anyone else,” he said. “The bench is elevated so that our perspective could be the very best, that we could see as much we possibly could so that our decisions can be informed and educated. Every time I take those steps I will strive to see each issue from that elevated perspective of fairness and justice.”