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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 2454   View pdf image (33K)
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2454 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF MARYLAND [Dec. 14]

DELEGATE MARION: Yes.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Dele-
gate Weidemeyer, do you yield?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: Yes.

DELEGATE MARION: Delegate Weide-
meyer searched the Committee's memo-
randa for some explanation of the need for
the exceptions which are spelled out in
lines 47, 48, 49 relating to cases arising in
the land or naval forces and the militia.
Could you give me some reason why there
is any need for such an exception in the
constitution?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: This is
the exact wording of the federal Constitu-
tion, and it has held good since the adop-
tion of it. I have heard no clamor for
change, and ordinarily when a man is in
active military service, he is subject to the
jurisdiction of the military.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Dele-
gate Marion.

DELEGATE MARION: Is it not true,
though, that the U. S. has an army and a
navy and has by act of Congress a system
of military courts in which those offenders
are punished, and we have made no such
provision for that as the judicial system of
this state?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: If those
cases arise under the federal jurisdiction
or the military forces, of course, they
would be prosecuted under those federal
laws. So, we can make an exception with-
out violating anything.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : For
what purpose does Delegate Kiefer rise?

DELEGATE KIEFER: For a point of
clarification.

This language exactly parallels the Fifth
•Amendment language. While Maryland
cases denning infamous crimes are not ex-
actly the same as federal crimes, as far
as we have been able to determine, there
are no felonies in Maryland that are not
infamous crimes. There are other serious
misdemeanors which have been classified
as infamous crimes. Therefore, this is a
little bit more broad in granting a right.

On the other hand, under the federal
rules and under Maryland rules, there is
always a right of waiver. We are not do-
ing anything but giving a person a right to
be indicted by a grand jury in situations
that parallel, we think, what the common
law was. We felt that this ought to be put
in now because the common law may not

be as clearly stated because we are elimi-
nating some of the present declaration of
rights.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Dele-
gate Marion?

DELEGATE MARION: Mr. Chairman,
if that was in response to my question,
I think it was —

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): That
was a supplementary answer.

DELEGATE MARION: I am still seek-
ing an answer to my question. I appreciate
the fact that this is language in the federal
Constitution, but if it will have no appli-
cation whatsoever to the State or cases
arising in the State, and if we do not have
an army or navy, why is there need just
for the sake of carrying over the language
of the Federal Constitution in the Mary-
land Constitution?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: Those
cases you are worried about I think come
under the federal jurisdiction of the mili-
tary.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Does
the State have military forces?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: In the
army or the navy they have military courts
and certain offenses which are offenses both
under the federal law and under the Mary-
land law can be prosecuted by military
court martial. They are in the military-

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Dele-
gate Hardwicke, do you wish to ask a, ques-
tion of Delegate Weidemeyer?

DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Yes.

Delegate Weidemeyer, we passed S&E-2
last evening. The last sentence oi it pro-
vides that only a member of the militia
may be subject to a military trial, and then
only while in actual service.

Now if we adopt section 11, do you pro-
pose that WP amend S&E-2 to conform, or
would you propose that we amend section
11 to conform to S&E-2 or would it be ex-
actly the same thing?

DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: No, I do
not think we need it. I think they agree. I
might say that the Committee in passing
this clearly intended that our grand jury
procedures as we now know them would
not be disturbed. These would be placed in
the constitution, especially when we are
not adopting the language of Article 21,
Declaration of Rights, which I said by
implication gave the right to the grand
jury. We have always had it so that this



 

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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 2454   View pdf image (33K)
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