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DELEGATE SCANLAN: Delegate
Grant, I believe he has changed the phrase
to public peace rather than public safety.
THE CHAIRMAN: Public peace is the
phrase.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Would your
phrase, public peace, as you propose it,
permit the committing judge to take into
account the propensity or proclivity of the
accused to commit crime, the likelihood he
might commit crime during the period he
is released on bail and before he is tried?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: I refer Delegate
Scanlan to the case of this Elwood v.
Ocean City and approximately this same
case came up in which public peace was
discussed, curfew orders and violators were
held. It was a question of whether they
would be legitimately held. The case es-
sentially defined what was public peace,
what were the public interests involved
and made the decision that in this case the
holding was lawful, in which they made
temporary holding but did not grant bail
because of the Ocean City riots.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: In other
words, I gather your answer to my ques-
tion was yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: That is right,
yes, under well defined legal concepts.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Delegate Grant,
is it your intention by substituting the
word "peace" for "safety" to make the
provision more or less restrictive?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: The answer is
yes, it is to make it restrictive, but re-
strictive within a well defined legal con-
cept, that is, what is necessary for the
prevention of a breach of peace and what
is necessary for the safeguarding of pub-
lic peace. That would be the only restric-
tion on a man's absolute right to bail other
than these capital cases.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: As I understand
the legal authorities you cited in your an-
swer to Delegate Scanlan's question, dis-
turbance of the public peace would involve
any act which interfered with the good
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order of the State. For instance, I will
give an example of a drunk and disorderly
individual who wants to get out on bail,
and who is still in a condition where he
might disturb the neighborhood. Is it your
intention to state by this provision that a
drunk would be entitled to bail as long as
he still was inebriated or in danger of
going to another bar?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: The intention of
this amendment is essentially as described
by Judge Child this morning, of granting
to the judge judicial discretion, and if he
felt that by judicial discretion the public
peace was involved he would be authorized
to take the appropriate action. He would
not be constitutionally bound to turn the
man loose.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Are you then
suggesting that a person who is arrested
would be subjected to two trials, one by
the judge to decide whether he will be
peaceful until he is tried for the offense
for which he 'was arrested, and the other,
of course, being his principal trial? Is that
the plan of this amendment?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: I suggest to Dele-
gate Bothe that there be two considera-
tions: the consideration of guilt and in-
nocence is something to be determined at
the trial. However, there is often another
consideration and that is, public peace, and
public peace is something that can or can-
not be affected by the manner of granting
bail. This allows the judge judicial discre-
tion. I point out this is not unfair judicial
discretion but judicial discretion within
well recognized legal concepts.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: You are aware,
I assume, of the present state of the Mary-
land law which except in capital cases
gives an accused an absolute right to bail,
assuming that he has the funds to post.
How would this provision conflict with
that, if at all?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: I am well aware
of the present state of Maryland law and
am also well aware of the present state of
Maryland practice. This would simply
make practice and law conform.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bothe.
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