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I respectfully suggest that judges can-
not dominate lawyers, especially in the
matter of such as a nominating commis-
sion. The lawyers, as well as the laymen,
are going to exercise their own judgments
in the matter of selection. At the bench,
when the judge is on the right side of the
bench and for purposes of rulings and ac-
cepting rulings, the lawyer is on the wrong
side of the bench, it is another matter; but
in my humble judgment, the lawyer and
the judge and the layman will approach
the responsibility of the nominating com-
mission in the best interests of the State
and join forces in selecting those best
equipped and without fear or friendship.
I, therefore, oppose the amendment on the
basis that a judge can make and will make
a valuable contribution to the nominating
commission.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Johnson.
DELEGATE JOHNSON: Are we under
controlled debate?
THE CHAIRMAN: Yes, you still have
time to allocate.
DELEGATE JOHNSON: I believe Dele-
gate Harkness wanted to speak to this
amendment, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: How much time?
DELEGATE JOHNSON: Two or three
minutes, whatever Delegate Harkness
would need, I believe.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Harkness.
DELEGATE HARKNESS: Mr. Chair-
man, very briefly I want to call to this
body again, which I did last week, the
principle that disturbs me about the whole
judicial article. If the delegates would make
a careful reading of section by section, they
will see that we are heaping upon the
judiciary of this State the highest power
that I know has been bestowed upon the
judiciary of any state.
First we have judges appointing judges.
Now we have judges on the nominating
commission to recommend judges for ap-
pointment.
I call to the attention of the delegates
that when this matter came before the bar
r association a number of years ago, Judge
Menchine from Baltimore County at that
time opposed have a judge on the nomi-
nating commission. He just a few weeks
ago appeared before the Committee on the
Judicial Branch and again expressed his
opposition a second time. He questions both
the wisdom and the propriety of having a
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judge on the nominating commission that
is going to make the recommendation for
the selection of another judge.
It is my firm belief that no judge should
be on such a commission. We believe that
a commission without the benefit of a judge
will arrive at a fair and just decision. We
feel that such a position eliminating the
judge will make it far more acceptable to
the public. We feel that if we want to
really get an independent recommendation
from the nominating commission, we
should omit the judge from the commission.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd.
DELEGATE MUDD: How much con-
trolled time do we have, Mr. Chairman?
Fifteen minutes?
THE CHAIRMAN: You have thirteen
and a half minutes yet to allocate.
DELEGATE MUDD: I delegate three
minutes to Delegate Hodge Smith.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate J. H.
Smith.
DELEGATE J. H. SMITH: Mr. Chair-
man and members of this Committee of the
Whole: I will be very brief. All the evi-
dence before our Committee was to the
effect that there should be a judge on these
nominating commissions.
Now it was repeated time and again in
the evidence before our Committee, that
not only have they had a judge on the
commission in Missouri, where this plan
has been in effect for twenty-seven years,
but they have found his advice very help-
ful.
It is not a matter of great moment, but
the answer keeps coming back, who knows
better than a judge the capabilities of an
attorneyHvho appears before him. He has
a chance to see his written work, he has a
chance to hear his arguments in court;
and we just felt that this was a wise move.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Johnson.
DELEGATE JOHNSON: Mr. Chairman,
I yield three minutes to Delegate Neilson.
DELEGATE NEILSON: Mr. Chairman,
I do not know that I will need the three
minutes, and I thank Delegate Johnson for
the opportunity to speak on his behalf and
on behalf of the minority who proposed this
report.
I believe that the knowledge of the city
judges, of course, would be most helpful to
the commission that is making the in-
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