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DELEGATE JAMES: Let me recognize Delegate Dorsey
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and then we will have the questions
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DELEGATE DORSEY: Mr. President and ladies and
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gentlemen of the Convention, for 100 years this provision
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has been in the Constitution of Maryland and in the adminis-
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tration of criminal justice in this state. It has worked
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well. I have sat on both sides of the counsel table as
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state's attorney and as defense counsel, and I have never
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observed any miscarriage of justice because a jury was the
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judge of both the law and the fact.
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For the last 50 years there have been attempts
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made to take this provision out of the Constitution of
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Maryland. All of those attempts have failed. It was
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amended so that the courts could pass on the sufficiency of
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the evidence. I feel that that is a good provision. I have
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said for 100 years it has worked in this state, so why change
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for the sake of change.
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I hope, ladies, and gentlemen, that this amend-
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ment will fail.
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DELEGATE JAMES: Delegate Bothe, do you wish to
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ask a question of Delegate Moser?
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