ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE
COMMISSION

Chairperson: M. Peter Moser, 1986

Edwin A. Lechowicz, 1985; Florence Udel, 1985;
William Walsh, 1985; Bertha W. Emory, 1986;
David A. McNamee, 1986; Barbara Kerr Howe,
1987; I. John Ritterpusch, 1987; Kenneth L.
Thompson, 1987; Emest M. Thompson, 1988.

Melvin Hirshman, Bar Counsel

District Court Building
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 269-2791

By Rule of the Court of Appeals the Attorney
Grievance Commission was created in 1975 to
supervise and administer the discipline and inac-
tive status of lawyers. The Commission consists of
eight lawyers and two lay persons appointed by the
Court of Appeals for four-year terms. No member
is eligible for reappointment for a term immediate-
ly following the expiration of the member's service
for one full term of four years. The chairperson of
the Commission is designated by the Court. The
Commission appoints, subject to approval of the
Court of Appeals, a lawyer to serve as bar counsel
and principal executive officer of the disciplinary
system. Duties of the bar counsel and his staff
include investigation of all matters involving possi-
ble misconduct, prosecution of disciplinary pro-
ceedings, and investigation of petitions for rein-
statement.

By the same Rule of Court, the Court of Appeals
also established a disciplinary fund to cover ex-
penses of the Commission and provided for an
Inquiry Committee and a Review Board to act
upon disciplinary cases. The Fund is composed of
annual assessments upon members of the bar as a
condition precedent to the practice of law. The
Review Board consists of eighteen persons. There
are fifteen attorney members and three lay mem-
bers from the State at large. Members serve three-
year terms. Judges are not permitted as members
of the board. The Inquiry Committee consists of
both attorney and lay members (Rule 1100, Chap.
BV).

STATE LAW LIBRARY
LIBRARY COMMITTEE

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

Marvin H. Smith, Associate Judge, Court of
Appeals; John C. Eldridge, Associate Judge,
Court of Appeals; Richard P. Gilbert, Chief

Judiciary/437

Judge, Court of Special Appeals; James H.
Norris, 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.

The State Library was originally established by
Chapter 53, Acts of 1827, and at that time was an
agency of the executive branch. Its primary pur-
pose was to serve the legal and general reference
needs of the legislative and judicial branches of
State government. The Library operated under this
organizational structure until 1978, when it was
placed under the Judicial Department and re-
named the State Law Library (Chapter 128, Laws
of 1978).

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. This Committee's powers in-
clude appointment of a director of the Library,
appropriate rule making, and purchase authoriza-
tion for new titles (Code Courts and Judicial
Proceedings Article, secs. 13-502, 13-503).

Besides the primary purpose of serving the legal
information needs of the State's appellate courts
and other branches of State government, and also
acting as a resource center for circuit court librar-
ies 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 histo-
ry and genealogy. With a total collection well in
excess of 160,000 volumes, this Library facility
offers the researcher access to a unique information
resource. The collection, which is basically com-
posed of reference material, does not circulate
except to State agency personnel. Much of the
collection, however, is available on interlibrary
loan and photocopy facilities are available to
patrons.

Law-related materials constitute the major por-
tion of the total collection, including reported
court decisions from all appellate jurisdictions
across the country in addition to some English
speaking foreign countries. Legislative enactments,
both in session law form and as statutory compila-
tions, are also filed in the Library from almost
every state, as are all federal and some foreign