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that cutoff date would not be limited, neces-
sarily, to the judges who are now ap-
pointed, and holding office, but that it
would, in fact, give the counties a chance
to secure legislation which would adopt
systems of their own which could be
blanketed in.
I take it that the transitory committee
has scrapped that part of the proposal.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hardwicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Well, in
answer to that, the Bar Association's rec-
ommendation, as I understand it, was not
made with a view to a new constitution
coming into effect. It is our purpose not to
permit anybody to tamper with the new
constitution coming into effect by the de-
vice of creating judgeships, and I think I
know what you have in mind, but if the
counties on an individual basis could create
a large number of judges, and we had to
preserve them under the new constitution,
we would give them a unilateral control
over the new constitution with regard to
the judges so created.
We do not think that is right.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Do you not envisage
that the legislature in setting up the dis-
tricts for the district court system could
control this? Is this not the way it is really
going to be controlled?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hardwicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: So that actually the
fear that you suggest is not present, be-
cause the legislature in the last analysis,
when it districts the State, is going to have
to take a hard look at the whole thing, and
either increase or reduce the number of
judges who have then been in existence.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hardwicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: I would
only suggest to you, Delegate Case, if your
point were to prevail, it would not be the
General Assembly that would have control
over the new judgeships. It would be the
local county governments which would have
control over the new judgeships.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: I do not want to
debate it with you now, but I strenuously
disagree with that.
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For example, using Delegate Grant's
county, which is the one that has been used
most frequently: if Garrett County passed
a bill which would set up five full-time
People's Court judges, you do not for one
think that the legislature would not when
it redistricts the State have the power to
cut that down to one, do you?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case and
Delegate Hardwicke, I think the last sev-
eral questions and answers were passing
each other. When I made the suggestion
that I did to you earlier as to your first
question, that Delegate Hardwicke was
conferring with Mr. Adkins, and did not
catch the distinction.
Delegate Hardwicke, when Delegate Case
was referring to People's Courts created in
counties, he was not referring to People's
Courts created by local government, but by
act of the legislature for a county.
I think, Delegate Case, that what Dele-
g-ate Hardwicke is saying is that the intent
of these provisions is that from now on,
the legislature in creating any People's
Court judges for any particular county
would have in mind that it is also within
a very few years going to be creating a
district court, and it would act in creating
the new People's Courts on the assumption
that it was acting temporarily.
In other words, it would be a part of the
overall picture with the new district court
to come into effect as soon as the legisla-
ture had worked out the details.
Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: But it does to that
extent freeze judicial reform in the State
until 1970.
THE CHAIRMAN: No. I do not think
it freezes judicial reform. The General As-
sembly, to use again your illustration of
Garrett County, if it is deemed desirable to
supplant the present trial magistrates sys-
tem in the county with a People's Court,
could do so, but it would be doing so with
the idea it could act in two bites, one, effec-
tive from now until 1970, and the second
when the district court system came into
effect.
Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: My only point was
that this prevents the legislature in its wis-
dom from acting in one bite.
THE CHAIRMAN: I think that is true.
Are there any further questions as to
section 23?
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