684/Maryland Manual

changed or modified by the Court of Appeals or other-
wise by law. The power of courts other than the Court
of Appeals to make rules of practice and procedure, or
administrative rules, shall be subject to the rules and
regulations adopted by the Court of Appeals or other-
wise by law.

(b)'" The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals shall
be the administrative head of the judicial system of the
State. He shall from time to time require, from each of
the judges of the Circuit Courts, of the District Court
and of any intermediate courts of appeal, reports as to
the judicial work and business of each of the judges and
their respective courts. He may, in case of a vacancy, or
of the illness, disqualification or other absence of a
judge or for the purpose of relieving an accumulation of
business in any court assign any judge except a judge of
the Orphans' Court to sit temporarily in any court ex-
cept an Orphans' Court. Any judge assigned by the
Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals pursuant to this
section has all the power and authority pertaining to a
judge of the court to which he is so assigned; and his
power and authority shall continue with respect to all
cases (including any motion, or other matters incidental
thereto) which may come before him by virtue of such
assignment until his action thereon shall be completed.
In the absence of the Chief Judge of the Court of Ap-
peals the provisions of this section shall be applicable to
the senior judge present in the Court of Appeals. The
powers of the Chief Judge set forth in this section shall
be subject to any rule or regulation adopted by the
Court of Appeals.

SEC. 18B."² (a) For the purpose of implementing
the amendments to this article, dealing with the selec-
tion and tenure of appellate court judges, the following
provisions shall govern.

(b) Each judge of an appellate court who is in office
for an elected term on the effective date of these amend-
ments, unless he dies. resigns, retires, or is otherwise
lawfully removed, shall continue in office until the gen-
eral election next after the end of his elected term, or
until his seventieth birthday, whichever first occurs. His
continuance in office is then subject to the provisions of
section 5A (c) and (d) of this article, applicable to
judges of that court, but in no event shall any judge
continue in office after his seventieth birthday.

(c) Each judge of a court specified in subsection (b)
who is in office on the effective date of these amend-
ments, but who has not been elected to that office by
the voters, shall, within fifteen days after the effective
date of these amendments, be reappointed to that office.
His continuance in office is then subject to the provi-
sions of section 5A (c) and (d) of this article, applicable
to judges of that court, but in no event shall any judge
continue in office after his seventieth birthday.

'" Thus amended by Chapter 681, Acts of 1977, ratified No-
vember 7, 1978, and by Chapter 523, Acts of 1980, ratified No-
vember 4, 1980.
¹¹² Thus added by Chapter 551, Acts of 1975, ratified Novem-
ber 2,1976.

Article IV

Part III Circuit Courts.

SEC. 19."³ The State shall be divided into eight
Judicial Circuits, in manner following, viz.: The Counties
of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset, and Dorchester, shall
constitute the First Circuit; the Counties of Caroline,
Talbot, Queen Anne's, Kent and Cecil, the Second; the
Counties of Baltimore and Harford, the Third; the
Counties of Allegany, Garrett, and Washington, the
Fourth; the Counties of Carroll. Howard and Anne
Arundel, the Fifth; the Counties of Montgomery and
Frederick, the Sixth; the Counties of Prince George's,
Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's, the Seventh; and
Baltimore City, the Eighth.

SEC. 20.'¹⁴ (a) There shall be a Circuit Court for
each county and for Baltimore City. The Circuit Courts
shall have and exercise, in the respective counties, and
Baltimore City, all the power, authority and jurisdic-
tion, original and appellate, which the Circuit Courts of
the counties exercised on the effective date of these
amendments, and the greater or lesser jurisdiction here-
after prescribed by law.

(b) The judges of the Circuit Courts for Montgomery
and Harford counties shall each, alternately and in ro-
tation and on schedules to be established by those
judges, sit as an Orphans' Court for their County, and
shall have and exercise all the power, authority and ju-
risdiction which the present Orphans' Courts now have
and exercise, or which may hereafter be provided by law.

SEC. 21.¹¹⁵ (a) Subject to the provisions of subsec-
tion (b) the General Assembly shall determine by law
the number of judges of the circuit court in each county
and circuit. These judges shall be selected in accordance
with Sections 3 and 5 of this Article.

(b) There shall be at least four circuit court judges
resident in each circuit, and at least one circuit court
judge shall be resident in each county. There shall be at
least two such judges resident in Anne Arundel County,
at least three resident in Baltimore County, at least four
resident in Prince George's County, and at least five
resident in Montgomery County.

(c) The senior judge in length of service in each cir-
cuit shall be the chief judge of the circuit. The other
judges shall be associate judges.

(d) Except as otherwise provided by law, one judge
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any
business.

(e) The terms of the circuit courts shall be deter-
mined by law.

(f) A person is not ineligible for appointment or elec-
tion as a judge because he was a member of the Gener-
al Assembly at a time when the number or salary of
judges were increased or decreased.

'" Thus amended by Chapter 99, Acts of 1956, ratified Novem-
ber 6, 1956.
¹¹⁴ Thus amended by Chapter 681, Acts of 1977, ratified No-
vember 7, 1978, and by Chapter 523, Acts of 1980, ratified No-
vember 4, 1980.
¹¹⁵ Thus amended by Chapter 542, Acts of 1976, ratified
November 2, 1976.