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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: Yes, I would con-
sider it so. I believe your question to me
would be how is the chief justice ordered.
I would say that inasmuch as the responsi-
bility is directed by the constitution he
would be exercising a duty directed by the
constitution rather than a duty directed by
his branch of government.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mitchell.
DELEGATE MITCHELL: Mr. Presi-
dent and delegates:
I must simply emphasize again that this
democracy was built on the separation of
the three co-equal branches of government,
with checks and balances, to make sure
that there would not be too much concen-
tration of power in any one branch, and I
submit again that not only would this pro-
vision be contrary to the very founding
principles of this government and this
country, but would be to result in the
spectacle of judges selecting and appoint-
ing themselves and being self -perpetuating;
and I think that is contrary to our provi-
sions.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
The question arises on the adoption of
Amendment 26. A vote Aye is a vote in
favor of the amendment; a vote No, a vote
against.
Delegate Gill.
DELEGATE GILL: Mr. Chairman, I
would like to refer you to Article IV in the
present Constitution, section 5, where it
says, "the governor shall appoint a person
duly qualified to fill said office, who shall
hold the same until the election and quali-
fication of his successor"; and to the model
constitution which says "the governor shall
appoint", and, of course, going back to the
very beginning of the debate on the militia,
to our discussion of whether to make it
"shall" or "may". In our debates on suf-
frage and elections, and also local govern-
ment, we voted on "shall" and "may" again,
and as pointed out by Delegate White, in
this same article, section 5.04, we provide
that "the governor shall". Throughout the
rest of these recommendations, we provide
that "the Superior Court shall", the "gover-
nor shall", "the District Court shall".
If they are all going to act because the
Constitution says they shall, why do we
think that the governor shall not appoint
a judge on such an important occasion? I
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just cannot see why "shall" all of a sudden
loses its meaning because it is in this par-
ticular article.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question? The question arises on the
adoption of Amendment No. 26. A vote
Aye is a vote in favor of the amendment;
a vote No is a vote against. Cast your
votes.
Have all delegates voted? Does any dele-
gate desire to change his vote?
The Clerk will record the vote.
There being 54 votes in the affirmative
and 73 in the negative, the motion is lost,
and the amendment is rejected.
The chief page will distribute amend-
ment CG. While the amendment is being
distributed, the Chair would like to ac-
knowledge the presence in the gallery of
the Honorable J. W. Diggs, Chief Judge of
the Circuit Court of the Seventh Circuit of
the State of Maryland.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Borom.
DELEGATE BOROM: Mr. Chairman, a
point of personal privilege. I would like to
announce the presence of my wife in the
gallery, and one-half of my family, my son,
who is upstairs, along with former state
delegate Alexander Stark and his wife; a
good friend of mine, Mrs. Alice Miller, and
my former boss, Berle Louis, who is for-
merly of the University of Maryland.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delighted to have
you with us this evening.
(Applause.)
This will be Amendment No. 27.
The Clerk will read the amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 27
to Committee Recommendation JB-1, by
Delegate Chabot: On page 4 section 5.14
Nomination and Appointment in line 43
after the word "vacancy," add this sen-
tence: "If a list sufficient to meet the re-
quirements of this section has been timely
received by the governor, but, the number
of persons on such a list has been reduced
by the ineliglbility of one or more nomi-
nees before the vacancy has been filled the
governor may return the list to the nomi-
nating commission, which shall present him
with another sufficient list within 30 days
thereafter."
THE CHAIRMAN: Amendment No. 27
is moved by Delegate Chabot. Is there a
second?
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