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Delegate Malkus to speak to the amend-
ment.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
members of the Convention, I hope that
your remarks do not mean that this amend-
ment has the kiss of death.
Now, this amendment, Mr. President, is
very brief. I will read what it does: the
governor shall fill a vacancy in the office
of judge by appointing a person to fill the
vacancy.
That takes care of everything else that
we have been talking about for a long time.
In this amendment, I do not talk about
the evils of politics that my Chairman
Number 1 talked about earlier in the eve-
ning — I refer of course to those who do
not know whom I mean, the great chair-
man, Gallagher of my committee — but this
is an amendment that carries out the voice
of the people.
You may all be much more intellectual
than the people. I am talking about the
average people, and naturally, we are on
the upper strata. But the records will
show, Mr. President, that during the last
eight years every appointment of circuit
court judges of the county or to the su-
perior court of Baltimore City — I think
that is the name of your high court over
there — every one of the appointments in
the last eight years that have been sub-
mitted to the approval of the people have
been approved by the people, and all you
are trying to do by all this gingerbread
about these various commissions and com-
mittees — I wish I had enough time to talk
about what I would do about them — is
throw out the window the wisdom of the
people. You are saying that they are not
smart enough to decide who is qualified to
be a judge.
Anything that can be done by this so-
called Niles plan, or the merit plan, which
is a misnomer, any governor can do. He
can ask for a committee report of all the
lawyers, he can ask for a citizen's report,
he can call the respective people in his
community who know the subject matter,
and he can say to them, who is the best
qualified man for judge.
Now, Mr. President, the alarming thing
to me is this: that so many people here
who benefited by the so-called evil program
are enemies of the program, and now op-
posed to it.
I will be glad to answer any questions
that anybody would ask me at any time
and I hope there would be some questions.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to ask Delegate Malkus a question
concerning his amendment?
Delegate Roger?
DELEGATE ROGER: Will you yield to
a question?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Malkus.
DELEGATE MALRUS: I will be very
happy to, Mr. Roger.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Roger.
DELEGATE ROGER: Is there some
danger of the governor appointing a po-
litical figure rather than a legal expert if
he is given an opportunity of appointing
without any qualifications?
DELEGATE MALRUS: Mr. Roger, the
same danger exists that the governor would
appoint some sort of other expert rather
than the legal expert.
It would be the same as it has been
over the many years in the past. I do not
change the law at all. I let the governor
in his wisdom make the appointment. I
do not even go as far in this amendment
as to ask that the people should have a
right to review. In the last eight years the
governor, for the most part, has been com-
pletely right as far as the people are con-
cerned, and a governor is a man of honor,
a man that understands what the people
want, and if he wants to stay in public
office he will appoint the right man.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd.
DELEGATE MUDD: Mr. Chairman, la-
dies and gentlemen of the Committee of the
Whole: I of course must rise in opposition
to this amendment. The obvious purpose of
this amendment is to destroy the full effect
3f the Committee Recommendation.
I repeat again that our Committee, and
a talented Committee, spent a great deal
?f time hearing witnesses, reviewing the
best evidence available and debating the
best method to improve the selection of
judges of Maryland.
We have had a Minority Report. We had
delegate proposals referred to us, but this
?oes beyond any idea that was ever brought
to the attention of our Committee, and now
represents the idea of one, and only one
delegate of this Convention.
It is no substitute for the well thought-
Dut plan submitted to you by the Commit-
;ee on the Judicial Branch. It is certainly
no improvement over the present system of
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