WASHINGTON – Maryland’s highest court is saying no the two people claiming the same House of Delegate’s seat.
In a terse statement, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge’s decision that found Gregory Hall did not have a right to the District 24 seat, neither did former Delegate Tiffany Alston.
Alston was forced from her seat after being found guilty of misusing funds. And Judge C. Philip Nichols ruled in December that she had been appropriately removed from her seat as a result of that conviction.
The Court of Appeals decision comes less than a week before Maryland’s General Assembly session gets underway.
Hall’s name had been forwarded as Alston’s replacement, but his nomination was called into question when Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley failed to sign off on it.
The seat remains vacant at this time.
Raquel Guilloruy, Gov. O’Malley’s spokesperson, says once the Prince George’s County’s Democratic Central Committee rescinds Hall’s nomination, the governor can make an appointment to the seat. There’s no indication of how soon the Central Committee will act.
Md. Court of Appeals denies Alston, Hall
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
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