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more City to have a poll including 90 per
cent of the attorneys who seldom if ever
get to court, and in Harford County a poll
including 50 per cent who seldom if ever
get to court. I think it is a very dubious
device, and if it should exist at all, should
be placed there by rule or statute and not
in the Constitution.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition? Dele-
gate Willoner.
DELEGATE WILLONER: I speak in
opposition to the motion, and I am sorry
I have to, because this is something we
have taken up and should have disposed
of before.
Mr. Bamberger has indicated that the
bar is not informed enough to vote on this
method. If the bar is not informed, cer-
tainly the public is not informed, and it
seems to me that the motion, really one of
the key parts of this whole provision has
been the section that gave the voters some
information about the kind of man they
select.
As it is, it seems to me without this we
might as well appoint for life, because this
is the key, this seems to be the key, the
only way the voters can have any idea of
what the bench is composed of.
It is true that some lawyers do not prac-
tice law in the courts all the time, but they
are familiar because they deal with law-
yers and the reputation of the judges does
get around, and this is such an important
issue. Article III of the federal Constitu-
tion is one of the shortest. It is the shortest
major article of the Constitution. We have
here what will be apparently the longest
provision.
I say it is essentially statutory, the whole
provision. We could probably say there
shall be such courts as established by law
and leave it there, but it seems to me we
have taken this approach, and when we do
take this approach, we must take an ap-
proach in all the areas. I challenge this
body that unless they do this, this is es-
sentially an appointment for life, and you
cannot get lawyers to stand up and speak
against a sitting judge as long as they
practice law before that judge. Therefore
at the present time our present system,
which I find distasteful, is so because the
voters do not have any say in their judges;
because nobody will get up and talk against
their judges if they happen to be a bad
judge, because they are afraid. This would
be one way to avoid the problem. It seems
to me a very useful way and would only
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work this way, and I strongly support this,
or rather oppose the adoption of this
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment? Delegate Mitchell.
DELEGATE MITCHELL: Mr. Presi-
dent, just one final word, and that is I see
in this provision further control of the
direction of the people's vote, and I think
essentially here again is the question of
whether the people are competent and in-
terested enough to choose their own ju-
dicial leaders without the control and the
direction of the lawyers or the judges. I
think that in the administration of justice,
the people are the heart of it, and I think
after we have gone through the screening
process of the nominating commission,
after we have gone through the present
checks and controls to insure high quality
judges, and after they have served two
years, I think the people in the district and
the people of the State are in the best
position, without control, to make this
decision.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any other delegate
desire to speak in opposition to the amend-
ment? Delegate Cicone.
DELEGATE CICONE: Mr. Chairman,
ladies and gentlemen, I am the wife of a
lawyer, and I manage his law office, and
there has not been an election where a
judge has come up for reelection that
clients have not called and asked the
opinion of my husband about a judge,
and of me, because when you work in a
law office, whether you are a secretary or
not, you know all the lawyers' help, too.
I submit to you that if this happens with
clients, what of the many people who have
no contact with an attorney?
This would be the only method by which
they could gauge their opinion, if there
was a poll taken of the attorneys and pub-
lished for all of those who may never go
into court and for those who may never
consult an attorney.
Now, as far as attorneys, I have listened
here all day after how timid they are. I
have had no experience in that manner, I
can assure you.
I strongly suggest that you defeat this
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion?
(There was no response.)
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