394/Maryland Manual

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE
COMMISSION

Chairperson: William Wells Beckett, 1982

Florence Udel, 1981; William Walsh, 1981; Wal-
ter E. Black, Jr., 1982; Rev. Felton E. May,
1982; David B. Mitchell, 1983; Charles H.
Reed, 1983; Elizabeth Tennery, 1983; Howard
Wood III, 1984.

Vacancy, Bar Counsel

District Court Building
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 269-2791

The Court of Appeals created this Commission
in 1975 to supervise and administer the discipline
and the inactive status of attorneys. The Commis-
sion consists of eight attorneys and two non-at-
torneys appointed by the Court of Appeals for
four-year terms. The Court designates the chair-
person. No member may serve more than one full
term. The Court also created an Inquiry Commit-
tee as well as a Review Board to act on disciplin-
ary cases. At the same time the Court of Appeals
established a Disciplinary Fund, contributions to
which are required of all practicing attorneys.

The staff of the Commission investigates and
prosecutes misconduct of any attorney in Mary-
land. It is also responsible for the investigation of
petitions for reinstatement (Rule 1100, Chap. BV).

MARYLAND STATE LAW LIBRARY

Library Committee

Chairperson: Robert C. Murphy, Chief Judge,
Court of Appeals

Marvin H. Smith, Associate Judge, Court of Ap-
peals; John C. Eldridge, Associate Judge, Court
of Appeals; Richard P. Gilbert, Chief Judge,
Court of Special Appeals; James H. Norris,
Clerk, Court of Appeals; William H. Adkins II,
State Court Administrator.

Michael S. Miller, Director, State Law Library

Courts of Appeal Building
361 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 269-3395

Hours: Mon.-Wed., Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.;
Thurs., 8:30 A.M.-9:00 p.m.; Sat., 9:00 a.m.-
4:00 P.M.

Judicial Units, Boards, and Commissions

The State Library was originally established by
Chapter 53, Acts of the General Assembly of
1827, and at that time was an agency of the exec-
utive branch. Its primary purpose was to serve
the legal and general reference needs of the legis-
lative and judicial branches of State government.
The Library operated under this organizational
structure until the legislative session of 1978,
when it was placed under the Judicial Depart-
ment and given a new name (Chapter 128, Laws
of 1978). This reorganization formalized a rela-
tionship that the Library had with the Courts
since the establishment of the Library in 1827.

The Library Committee, which acts as the
governing board of the Library, is composed of at
least three members who are appointed by the
Court of Appeals (Code Courts Article, sec.
13-502). This Committee's powers include ap-
pointment of a director of the Library, appropri-
ate rule making, and purchase authorization for
new titles (Code Courts Article, sec. 13-503).

Besides the primary purpose of serving the le-
gal information needs of the State's appellate
courts and other branches of State government,
and also acting as a resource center for Circuit
Court libraries throughout the State, the Library
is open to the public and encourages the use of a
number of extremely valuable reference resources,
including—law, general reference materials, State
and federal government documents, and State
and local history and genealogy. With a total col-
lection well in excess of 144,000 volumes, this Li-
brary facility offers the researcher access to a
unique information resource. The collection,
which is basically composed of reference material,
does not circulate except to State agency person-
nel. Much of the collection, however, is available
on interlibrary loan and photocopy facilities are
available to patrons.

Law related material makes up the major por-
tion of the total collection and contains reported
court decisions from all appellate jurisdictions
across the country in addition to some English
speaking foreign countries. Legislative enact-
ments, both in session law form and as statutory
compilations, are also filed in the Library from
almost every state, as are all federal and some
foreign statutes. The Library's legal periodical
holdings includes 298 current subscriptions from
all the major law schools and many bar groups
and commercial publishers. In addition there is a
strong and growing collection of legal texts and
topical looseleaf reporting services along with the
other legal reference materials found in most law
libraries.