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There was a proposal in the local gov-
ernment article that there be a county
clerk perhaps who would be elected in each
county. This clerk would be elected to per-
form the non-judicial functions, the func-
tions not related to the court office. He
would in effect be the highest elected resi-
dent official in that county.
The judge does not want to be bothered
with the sale of license and beer stamps as
I have mentioned and there are many fea-
tures that are now performed by the cir-
cuit court clerks which the judge does not
want to be concerned with; he is interested
in the efficient administration of his court.
Our proposal and our Minority Report
would provide for an appointment clerk to
the judge who would perform the judicial
functions, who would recommend that the
committee reconsider the proposal before it
to have an elected county clerk.
In our Committee we could not get agree-
ment on court clerks. We could not get ma-
jority agreement on whether the clerk of
the circuit court should be elected or ap-
pointed. Finally, in a compromise we came
up with a proposal which is before you on
the floor, the proposal that we leave to the
legislature the method to select the circuit
court clerk.
The history in Maryland, of court clerks,
I think is somewhat important. In the
original Constitution all clerks were ap-
pointed. It was not until 1851 that clerks
were elected. In 1857 for the first time the
Constitution provided that the Court of
Appeals clerks were elected, but in the con-
stitutional amendment adopted by the
people in 1956, this was removed and that
clerk was appointed.
Also, the appointment of the county clerk
was reduced from six years to four years.
Most of you received the study on the
Maryland judicial system. I would like to
read one section on page 50 which reads as
follows: "Another desirable change would
be to make clerks full time officials, func-
tioning under the general supervision of
the judges. As indicated above, many court
clerks today are performing additional
functions unrelated to judicial business,
and trying to serve many masters."
This need not be so in the future, when
there will be ample work in a properly
organized judicial system for full time
court clerks answerable to the judges alone.
As the National Conference of Chief Jus-
tices said in 1966: "Within the limits set by
law, courts should have full responsibility
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for supervising the employees upon whom
they must rely to administer the business
of the courts. Thus the independent author-
ity of courts to hire and fire their em-
ployees, to fix and adjust their salaries,
and to assign them duties, should not be
subject to the approval or control of any
non-judicial agency."
We suggest that the circuit or superior
court clerk should be appointed under the
articles we now have that the clerk of the
Court of Appeals be appointed, that the
clerk of the Intermediate Court of Appeals
be appointed, and that the clerk of the dis-
trict Court be appointed.
The only loophole or the only hole is
leaving the superior court clerk up to the
legislature. Here we have a clerk who prob-
ably will be elected and responsible to the
judge and who is also responsible to a chief
judge who is appointed. We therefore
strongly urge that you adopt the minority
report on this article.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the minority spokesman?
Delegate Darby.
DELEGATE DARBY: Delegate Dulany,
did you say the appointed superior court
clerk is solely responsible to the judges?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Dulany.
DELEGATE DULANY: If he is ap-
pointed by the judge, yes. But the article
would prescribe that he be appointed by
rule.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Darby.
DELEGATE DARBY: But the purpose
of your forthcoming amendment would
serve to take it out of your appointed of-
fices, isn't that correct?
DELEGATE DULANY: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Darby.
DELEGATE DARBY: Do you not feel
he has some functions for which he should
be responsible to the people?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Dulany.
DELEGATE DULANY: There are two
basic reasons for that, either because he
is a policy maker or because he is dealing
with the public generally from time :^
time, and the entire public. I think :h:-u :ho
court clerk is not a policy-making1 u>K so
that is not a reason for electing hiir,. A:
the present time, for all the duties he has
been saddled with, maybe he is responsi-
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