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which is required in the preceding part of
the section, but I would think that that
might be a matter for the Style Committee.
If they want to make it clearer, I would
have no objection.
I certainly intended by striking out what
I put here "upon a concurrence of five" to
strike that out and indicate that unanimity
would be required.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Rybczyn-
ski, do you have a question?
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: Yes, sir.
Judge Henderson, I take it from this
amendment that you as a Committee on
the Judiciary contemplated the use of juries
in the district court. Is tha't correct?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: Yes, I
think it is fair to say that we did. We did
not make it mandatory, of course, but there
is nothing to prevent it and personally I
think it would be a very good idea to have
juries at that level.
We had testimony on that point from the
judges sitting there. The Judges from
Montgomery County were very much in
favor of having juries. One or two others
expressed a favorable view of that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Rybczynski,
do you have a question?
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: In view of
the fact that the docket in the city of Bal-
timore, for instance, and in the People's
Court now calls for 100 or more cases a
day with three judges sitting, can you tell
us how a jury could possibly take part in
these proceedings in that court?
THE CHAIRMAN: Judge Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: I think
even if you had to get additional judges to
do it, I think it would be a great conven-
ience to the parties to be able to try the
case right there rather than to prepare
for trial and have all your witnesses
present and then by the election of the
jury trial, find that the whole thing had to
be removed to a higher court to try it
again.
I want to leave this open so that the
legislature in its wisdom can decide what
is the best way to set up these district
courts. These are new courts. This prob-
lem is not peculiar to Baltimore City, and
I submit that it would not be any very
great problem to have the judges avail-
able at that level.
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THE CHAIRMAN : Delegate Rybczynski,
do you have a further question?
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: Yes, sir, I
want to apologize to you and to the dele-
gates; I will tie it in. In effect, if we
decide that there should be juries in the
lowest level of the court, and we find that
the dockets are so over-crowded that noth-
ing can be accomplished after all, does
this not open the door for a fifth tier?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hender-
son.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: I do not
think so at all. We give to the legislature
under the judicial branch article the au-
thority to fix the jurisdiction of these
various courts and we are setting up a full
system, a full-time, full-paid system, at the
lowest level, the magistrate court level,
and I do not see any objection to giving
them the right to try the jury cases right
there.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Borom.
DELEGATE BOROM: Delegate Hender-
son, my question is, whether you have given
thought to the selection method for juries
at the district level, and if you have, what
would be your criterion for the selection of
these juries ?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: It would be
left to the legislature as it is under the
present law.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Borom.
DELEGATE BOROM: You think the
present General Assembly might follow the
present jury system in its selection ?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: I cannot
predict what the legislature would or would
not do. There are certain cases pending,
attacking the selection of juries in the up-
per court. Whatever the law is there would
apply in the lower courts too.
It is going to be made part of the entire
judicial system. There is a requirement
that the indigent people have counsel even
at the magistrate's level. These are full
courts of equal standing with the other
courts.
T,HE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Johnson, do
you have a question?
DELEGATE JOHNSON: Yes, perhaps
either of you, or of Delegate Henderson.
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