{
 "judge": "sonnet",
 "judge_model": "claude-sonnet-5.5",
 "arm": "C",
 "contest": "judge",
 "wall_seconds": 41.5,
 "body_words": 675,
 "parsed": {
  "claims": [
   {
    "n": 1,
    "claim": "The Appellate Court of Maryland is the state's intermediate appeals court, one step below the Supreme Court, and hears appeals from almost any case that starts in a circuit court or orphans' court.",
    "cited": [
     1
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The mdcourts.gov page says the court is Maryland's intermediate appellate court and hears appeals from almost any case that originates in a circuit or orphans' court. Parties may seek further review in the Supreme Court.",
    "evidence_url": "https://www.mdcourts.gov/acm"
   },
   {
    "n": 2,
    "claim": "Voters statewide mark Yes or No on whether Dan Friedman stays on the court.",
    "cited": [
     3,
     4
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "Art. IV \u00a75A(e) provides a yes/no retention vote. The SBE candidate list shows 'Judge Appellate Court of Maryland At Large, State Of Maryland', 'Judicial', for Friedman.",
    "evidence_url": "https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/General_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.csv"
   },
   {
    "n": 3,
    "claim": "Born in Panorama City, California; B.A. from University of Maryland College Park 1988; J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law 1994.",
    "cited": [
     2
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "All three details match the Maryland Manual entry.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/msa16938.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 4,
    "claim": "His candidate filing lists Baltimore County as his home jurisdiction.",
    "cited": [
     4
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The CSV row lists Residential Jurisdiction as Baltimore County.",
    "evidence_url": "https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/General_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.csv"
   },
   {
    "n": 5,
    "claim": "He wrote The Maryland State Constitution: A Reference Guide, republished by Oxford University Press in 2011.",
    "cited": [
     2
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The Manual gives the same publication details.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/msa16938.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 6,
    "claim": "No campaign website; the State Board of Elections lists none for him.",
    "cited": [
     4
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The Website field is blank in his CSV row.",
    "evidence_url": "https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/General_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.csv"
   },
   {
    "n": 7,
    "claim": "In a 2023 essay he wrote that judges should not 'pick a single theory' and should 'use all available interpretive tools'.",
    "cited": [
     5
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The essay was published Feb 10, 2023. It says an interpreter should not 'pick a single theory and stick with it' and should 'use all available interpretive tools'. Both quotes are accurate.",
    "evidence_url": "https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/applying-federal-constitutional-theories-state-constitutions"
   },
   {
    "n": 8,
    "claim": "He has been a judge on this court since September 23, 2014.",
    "cited": [
     2
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The Manual says 'At Large, since September 23, 2014'. The court was named the Court of Special Appeals until Dec 14, 2022, and the page's wording is acceptable.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/msa16938.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 9,
    "claim": "Prior career: clerked for two judges; worked at Miles & Stockbridge and Saul Ewing; chief of litigation for Baltimore City law department 2000-2002; Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the General Assembly 2008-2014; adjunct law teacher since 1998.",
    "cited": [
     2
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The Manual lists clerkships with Judges Byrnes and Karwacki, Miles & Stockbridge 1996-2000, and Saul Ewing 2002-05 and 2006-08. It also lists Chief of Litigation 2000-02, AAG and Counsel to General Assembly 2008-14, and Adjunct Professor 1998-.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/msa16938.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 10,
    "claim": "He served on Judicial Council committees on court technology, legislation, and court rules.",
    "cited": [
     2
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "He served on the Court Technology Committee (2015-16) and the Legislative Committee (2017). On rules, he chairs the Rules Review Subcommittee of the Equal Justice Committee (2020-). 'Committee on court rules' is slightly loose wording.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/msa16938.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 11,
    "claim": "In a September 2026 order he agreed Baltimore City's request to pause the Inspector General records case should be denied, writing separately that the City raised 'legitimate concerns' about protected records that did not justify a pause.",
    "cited": [
     6
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "major",
    "note": "FOX45 (Sept 14, 2026) reports that Friedman agreed the stay should be denied but gave a different explanation. He wrote the City raised 'legitimate concerns' about privileged records, and that these did not amount to irreparable harm justifying a stay.",
    "evidence_url": "https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/maryland-appeals-court-rejects-baltimore-bid-to-pause-inspector-general-lawsuit"
   },
   {
    "n": 12,
    "claim": "If Yes wins he stays in office for a 10-year term; the name appears 'without opposition'; judges on this court must retire at 70.",
    "cited": [
     3
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "major",
    "note": "Art. IV \u00a75A(e) and (f) say this.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/04art4.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 13,
    "claim": "If No wins or the vote is tied, the seat becomes vacant 10 days after certification; the Governor appoints a replacement with Senate approval.",
    "cited": [
     3
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "major",
    "note": "\u00a75A(b) and (e) match.",
    "evidence_url": "https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/04art4.html"
   },
   {
    "n": 14,
    "claim": "He says he uses textualism, originalism, and other tools including critical race theory; no single method is enough alone.",
    "cited": [
     5
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The essay names textualism, originalism, structuralism, comparative interpretation, common law constitutionalism, and critical race theory. It says 'in isolation, none of these theories ... is sufficient'.",
    "evidence_url": "https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/applying-federal-constitutional-theories-state-constitutions"
   },
   {
    "n": 15,
    "claim": "The Governor appoints judges on this court, the Senate confirms them, and voters face a Yes/No retention vote every 10 years.",
    "cited": [
     1,
     3
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "The mdcourts.gov page and \u00a75A confirm this.",
    "evidence_url": "https://www.mdcourts.gov/acm"
   },
   {
    "n": 16,
    "claim": "Privileged records means records the law can protect from disclosure, such as lawyer-client communications.",
    "cited": [
     6
    ],
    "verdict": "supported",
    "severity": "minor",
    "note": "This is a plain-English gloss. FOX45 mentions attorney-client privilege and work-product protections, and the gloss does not add a false fact.",
    "evidence_url": "https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/maryland-appeals-court-rejects-baltimore-bid-to-pause-inspector-general-lawsuit"
   }
  ],
  "dead_or_fake_urls": [],
  "invented_attribution": [],
  "endorsement": [],
  "equal_treatment_issues": [
   "Only one person is on the ballot, so there is no comparison to make. The page gives no case for voting Yes or voting No (for example, no judicial-performance evaluations). It says it could not find this material, which is honest but leaves the 'balance' section thin."
  ],
  "rubric": {
   "accuracy": 5,
   "sourcing": 5,
   "balance": 4,
   "usefulness": 4,
   "clarity": 5
  },
  "gate": "pass",
  "gate_reasons": [
   "All checkable claims were supported by the cited, authoritative sources. All six URLs resolved, with no invented attributions or endorsements."
  ],
  "summary": "This is a Yes/No vote on whether Judge Dan Friedman, on the Appellate Court of Maryland since 2014, stays on the court for another 10-year term. If voters say No, or the vote ties, the seat opens and the Governor appoints a replacement with Senate approval. The page's facts match official sources."
 },
 "raw_tail": "id-to-pause-inspector-general-lawsuit\"},\n    {\"n\":12,\"claim\":\"If Yes wins he stays in office for a 10-year term; the name appears 'without opposition'; judges on this court must retire at 70.\",\"cited\":[3],\"verdict\":\"supported\",\"severity\":\"major\",\"note\":\"Art. IV \u00a75A(e) and (f) say this.\",\"evidence_url\":\"https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/04art4.html\"},\n    {\"n\":13,\"claim\":\"If No wins or the vote is tied, the seat becomes vacant 10 days after certification; the Governor appoints a replacement with Senate approval.\",\"cited\":[3],\"verdict\":\"supported\",\"severity\":\"major\",\"note\":\"\u00a75A(b) and (e) match.\",\"evidence_url\":\"https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/04art4.html\"},\n    {\"n\":14,\"claim\":\"He says he uses textualism, originalism, and other tools including critical race theory; no single method is enough alone.\",\"cited\":[5],\"verdict\":\"supported\",\"severity\":\"minor\",\"note\":\"The essay names textualism, originalism, structuralism, comparative interpretation, common law constitutionalism, and critical race theory. It says 'in isolation, none of these theories ... is sufficient'.\",\"evidence_url\":\"https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/applying-federal-constitutional-theories-state-constitutions\"},\n    {\"n\":15,\"claim\":\"The Governor appoints judges on this court, the Senate confirms them, and voters face a Yes/No retention vote every 10 years.\",\"cited\":[1,3],\"verdict\":\"supported\",\"severity\":\"minor\",\"note\":\"The mdcourts.gov page and \u00a75A confirm this.\",\"evidence_url\":\"https://www.mdcourts.gov/acm\"},\n    {\"n\":16,\"claim\":\"Privileged records means records the law can protect from disclosure, such as lawyer-client communications.\",\"cited\":[6],\"verdict\":\"supported\",\"severity\":\"minor\",\"note\":\"This is a plain-English gloss. FOX45 mentions attorney-client privilege and work-product protections, and the gloss does not add a false fact.\",\"evidence_url\":\"https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/maryland-appeals-court-rejects-baltimore-bid-to-pause-inspector-general-lawsuit\"}\n  ],\n  \"dead_or_fake_urls\": [],\n  \"invented_attribution\": [],\n  \"endorsement\": [],\n  \"equal_treatment_issues\": [\"Only one person is on the ballot, so there is no comparison to make. The page gives no case for voting Yes or voting No (for example, no judicial-performance evaluations). It says it could not find this material, which is honest but leaves the 'balance' section thin.\"],\n  \"rubric\": {\"accuracy\": 5, \"sourcing\": 5, \"balance\": 4, \"usefulness\": 4, \"clarity\": 5},\n  \"gate\": \"pass\",\n  \"gate_reasons\": [\"All checkable claims were supported by the cited, authoritative sources. All six URLs resolved, with no invented attributions or endorsements.\"],\n  \"summary\": \"This is a Yes/No vote on whether Judge Dan Friedman, on the Appellate Court of Maryland since 2014, stays on the court for another 10-year term. If voters say No, or the vote ties, the seat opens and the Governor appoints a replacement with Senate approval. The page's facts match official sources.\"\n}\n```\n\n"
}