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Delegate Hargrove.
DELEGATE HARGROVE: Mr. Chair-
man, I think the intention of Delegate
Grant and also Delegate Clagett might be
a worthwhile one. However, I think the
amendment is an extremely dangerous one.
We have set out in this Convention cer-
tainly to strengthen the courts. We have
given power to the judges to administer
justice.
I think here we are attempting to per-
mit the judges to delegate those powers to
officers whose training certainly we do not
take to be the same as a district court
judge. I could visualize as Delegate Clagett
suggests that a district court, if overbur-
dened with work, would appoint a commis-
sioner to hear traffic court cases. This is
not the function of a commissioner. It was
never intended to be the function of a com-
missioner. The Committee intended very
definitely to restrict the commissioner's
power. His power is such that he can ar-
rest, put in jail, or release a person for
the commission of a crime. Should a person
of this stature be given additional author-
ity, I would suggest that it should take a
constitutional amendment to do so and let
the people make the determination.
I, therefore, would suggest that we de-
feat this amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Scanlan to speak in favor
of the amendment.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I think Mr.
Clagett said it all. I would just like to
reiterate what he said and point out that
contrary to what Mr. Mudd indicated, you
are not putting guidelines in the Consti-
tution here, you are putting express limita-
tions. I think that the delegate's proposal
has the advantage that when time and ex-
perience indicate the commissioners can be
entrusted with other duties in addition to
the ones the Committee has in mind, they
should be given that power if, in the judg-
ment of the court, they are ready for it
without the necessity of amending the con-
stitution every time one wanted to give a
particular set of commissioners in a par-
ticular area greater duties than they here-
tofore had.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Bothe to speak in opposition.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Mr. Chairman, I
would suggest that we should not look to
the addition of the other powers in this
part-time office which may not even be
filled by members of the bar, but that we
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will be looking in the long run to the aboli-
tion of the office when the amount of ju-
dicial business in the more sparsely popu-
lated areas of the State increases to the
extent that full-time district court judges
will be available in every community.
I think that it is a dangerous matter to
place even the powers that have been put
by this section in the hands of people who
may be of no higher quality than the com-
mitting magistrates whom we all have
heard much about today.
I am rather surprised, for instance, at
the arguments of my good friend Delegate
Clagett that it might be perfectly all right
to allow a nonjudicial individual power of
this sort: to let the judge sleep, let the
policeman wake up one of these fellows,
and let him ramsack some fellow's home on
a search warrant which he may not com-
prehend. I would point out in many search
and seizure cases it has not only been re-
quired that a judge sign the warrant, but
in many instances that a judge of a higher
court perform this function.
That is how precious the right to be free
from search and seizure is. I suggest we
leave the language as it stands and hope
that it is not abused. I am not so sure that
it will not be.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor?
Delegate Carson.
DELEGATE CARSON: Mr. Chairman,
the present section 5.11 will permit the
commissioners to exercise the power of
issuing warrants of arrest as prescribed
by rule. It eems to me that if a commis-
sioner may issue a warrant of arrest that
he certainly then may also issue possibly a
warrant for search or for seizure.
When your liberty is taken away, you
cannot have anything else taken away but
your life, but search is a lesser invasion
of privacy. I think Mr. Grant's amendment
is meritorious. I do not know if it should
be or should not be. These commissioners
should be given more power than specified
here. But I suggest the courts to whom we
entrust the whole area of this now cer-
tainly will advisedly make that decision,
and I urge you to vote in favor of the
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak on this situation.
Delegate Dukes.
DELEGATE DUKES: Mr. President, as
I understand the thrust of the amendment,
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