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following section 16 — relate to the prob-
lem of transferring the hodge-podge of
magistrate courts, People's Courts, and so
forth in the lower level of the hierarchy,
over into the district court setup.
The significant date with regard to the
District Court is the date of January 1,
1970, and it is on that date that we expect
the new district court to be organized and
functioning. It will in part be staffed by
full-time magistrate-level judges now in
office. In other words, to the extent that a
full-time magistrate is now sitting and
meets the qualifications for the new district
court, he will transfer his functions over
to the district court and become a district
court judge.
To the extent that many of the counties
have part-time managers and part-time ju-
dicial officers who do not meet the require-
ments of the new district court, those
judges will be named by the governor and
will, when the judicial appointments com-
mission comes into being, be named by that
Commission. So for the three upper tiers
we have very little problem.
The district court poses quite a bit of a
problem and is set forth in sections 16 and
following. Section 16 is a very important
section because it explains a great deal of
what we have just said.
Section 5.01 shall not become effective as
to the district court until January 1, 1970.
The judicial power vested in the Orphans'
Courts as of June 30, 1968, shall continue
until January 1, 1971. In other words, the
Orphans' Courts will serve out the balance
of their term.
The judicial power vested in the justices
of the peace, People's Courts, Municipal
Courts, and the Housing Court of Balti-
more County as of June 30, 1968, shall
continue until January 1, 1970. In other
words, those courts shall continue until the
new district courts come into effect.
Each of such justices of the peace and
each of such courts other than the Or-
phans' Courts shall have until January 1,
1970, and the Orphans' Courts shall have
until January 1, 1971, the powers and
jurisdiction vested in each of them, re-
spectively, on June 30, 1968, subject to
such change as the General Assembly may
prescribe by law.
In other words, these part-time courts,
justices of the peace and so forth, will con-
tinue until January 1, 1970. Then their
functions will be transferred to the district
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court. The Orphans' Courts keep tl eir func-
tions until January 1, 1971.
Now, with that in mind, I think a great
many of the items in the following section
will fall into line.
Section 17 transfers matters in the three
higher courts over to the three higher
courts in the new four-tier structure.
Section 18, the first sentence of section
5.10 that relates to the jurisdiction of the
district court, all of section 5.11, that is,
the composition of the district court, and
all of section 5.12, that is, the commission
to take the place of your committee man-
agement, shall become effective on January
1, 1970. That is the effective date of the
district court.
The balance of this section is a con-
forming change with regard to your other
full-time courts, People's Court, Municipal
Court, or the Housing Court of Baltimore
County. It makes it clear that these func-
tions will be transferred over to the district
court.
Section 19 relates to the uniform juris-
diction of the district court and the uniform
jurisdiction of the superior court. It pro-
vides the uniform jurisdiction of two courts
in a four-tier hierarchy. That is not man-
datory until January 1, 1971.
The last sentence in that section relates
to the probate functions which lie in the
Circuit Court. It provides that jurisdiction
stays in the Circuit Court until January 1,
1970.
The Orphans' Courts' judges will be the
judges in the three higher tiers of the
present judicial powers. In other words,
the judges just transfer the name of their
court and we continue the same persons in
the judicial function.
In section 21, we continue in office the
chief judges of the appellate courts.
In section 22, we continue in office the
judges of the Orphans' Court.
In section 23 we continue in office the
full-time judges in the lowest courts, that
is, the full-time judges, and these full-time
judges will become judges in the district
courts.
As to the part-time judges, those terms
expired on December 31, 1969. That means
that in Cecil and Harford and Carroll
Counties and so forth where you have part-
time magistrates or part-time People's
Court judges their terms expire on Decem-
ber 31, 1969. That is when the new district
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