May 22, 1964

Let me begin by saying that it has been a privilege and an honor to
have been associated so closely during these five and a half years with
members of the judiciary of the State of Maryland. The respect and
admiration I have always felt for the judges and magistrates of our
State has increased with the closer acquaintance I have had with them
during my tenure as Governor. I deeply appreciate the effort that has
been made by this organization to improve the administration of justice
in Maryland by strengthening our courts of limited jurisdiction.

The judicial system of Maryland may be likened to a pyramid with
the Court of Appeals, our highest appellate court, at the apex, with the
courts of limited jurisdiction at its base, and with the circuit or trial
courts in an intermediate position. As with a pyramid of stone and
mortar, the court system, I am convinced, can be neither better nor
stronger than its base. Consequently the importance of our People's
Courts, of our Municipal Court of Baltimore City, and of our trial
magistrate system becomes obvious.

These courts are sometimes referred to as our "inferior" courts, or as
our "minor" courts. The terminology thus used is derived from their
limited jurisdiction, coupled with the fact that their decisions usually
are subject to appeal to the trial courts of general jurisdiction. But in
their importance in the administration of justice, they are neither "in-
ferior" nor "minor. " A vastly greater number of cases are tried and
disposed of in our courts of limited jurisdiction than in the other courts
of our State. Daily hundreds of our citizens find their way through the
doors of these courts in search of justice, resisting claims, and demanding
vindication of their position. The same is true of defendants in criminal
and traffic cases. A recent report of the administrative office showed
more than 20, 000 criminal and traffic cases disposed of in a single
month, and this figure includes neither the work of the Municipal
Court of Baltimore City nor of many trial magistrates.

People coming before our trial magistrates are worried people, whose
problems are as great as any in the world. What happens to them is
vitally important. To many, the only court with which they will ever
come in contact is one or another of our so-called "minor" courts. The
proceedings observed in them is the basis of the conception of justice
many will carry with them through life. To a large number of these

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