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best procedure that has ever been recom-
mended for Maryland to cope with that
sort of an unfortunate situation.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate White.
DELEGATE WHITE: Do you perceive
of the rules that will govern the conduct
of a judge keeping him from acting in an
erratic manner? For example, suppose two
different people appear before the same
judge on speeding charges and for some
strange reason, having nothing to do with
prior conviction, one is fined $35 and an-
other gets a suspended sentence. Do we have
any provisions which might protect citizens
from this kind of erratic performance on
the part of a judge?
DELEGATE MUDD: I can only answer
your question by saying that any conduct
of a judge which came within categories
detailed in section 5.25, which are these:
misconduct while in office, persistent failure
to perform the duties of his office, or con-
duct prejudicial to the proper administra-
tion of justice, would be within the juris-
diction of the Judicial Disabilities Com-
mission.
However, that would not include, in my
humble judgment, a sentence or a fine
which some man or woman received from
a particular judge.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate White.
DELEGATE WHITE: One last ques-
tion. I am trying to find out who will sit
in judgment, for example if a judge is ac-
cused of misconduct. Will the final deter-
mination as to his guilt be made by the
Court of Appeals?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate White, the
Chair suggests that that question will prob-
ably come up when the Committee con-
siders the sections dealing with removal,
which I believe are further on.
DELEGATE MUDD: No, they are in
there now.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is that included in
this section?
DELEGATE MUDD: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: I am sorry. It is in-
cluded in this part. Your question is proper.
DELEGATE WHITE: The impact of my
question is, will judges sit in judgment on
other judges, or will they be subjected or
exposed to a citizen's or another agency
which is not under the purview of the ju-
dicial?
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DELEGATE MUDD: Under our pro-
posal, allegations against any judge whose
conduct warranted consideration within the
categories just mentioned, would first be
submitted to the proposed Commission on
Judicial Disabilities. Their powers are de-
tailed in section 5.27. If in the judgment of
this Commission the conduct warranted ac-
tion, it could recommend retirement or re-
moval. The Court of Appeals then, after
hearing, could retire, censure, or remove
the judge if the hearing resulted in a find-
ing of misconduct as previously related.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate White.
DELEGATE WHITE: If the complain-
ing citizen did not receive satisfaction as a
result of the action by the Court of Ap-
peals, would he have any other relief?
DELEGATE MUDD: Not that I am
aware of, no.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd, your
proposal does not remove impeachment
proceedings if they are covered under other
parts of the constitution, does it?
DELEGATE MUDD: Exactly correct.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. But may I yield
to Judge Henderson, who may have some
further comment on that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: I think I
might make this comment. I believe that
Delegate White's question concerns an im-
proper sentence, rather than improper con-
duct. I might suggest that every sentence
is subject to review under the new proce-
dure, with the procedure only a year or so
old, whereby the sentences can be reviewed
by the normal process of appeal. If what
is in his mind is a proper review of an im-
proper sentence, that is already provided
for under other sections.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Delegate
Sickles.
DELEGATE SICKLES: Delegate Mudd,
with respect again to the expression "law-
yer"; throughout the State lawyers neigh-
bor on other jurisdictions, and I wonder
what is intended by the provision requiring
that lawyers be from the area. Does this
mean where the lawyer lives or would it
include where his office is, and is it possi-
ble that he might be in more than one
area for the reason of his office being one
place and his home being someplace else,
or that he could be in more than one area
if he is part of a firm that has more than
one office in the State?
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