qualified, or until he shall have attained the age of seventy
)ears, whichever may first happen, and be re eligible
thereto until he shall have attained the age of seventy years,
and not after In case of the inability of any of said Judges
to discharge his duties with efficiency, b\ reason of con
tinued sickness, or of physical or mental infirmity, it shall
be in the power of the General Assembly, two thirds of the
members of each House concurring, with the approval of
the Governor to retire said Judge from office

SEC. 3A. (a) Any former judge, except a former
)udge of the Orphans' Court, may be assigned by the Chief
Judge of the Court of Appeals, upon approv al of a majority
of the court, to sit temporarily in any court of this State,
except an Orphans' Court, as provided bv law

(b) The provisions of this section apply, not withstand
ing provisions appearing elsewhere in this Article pertain
ing to retirement of)udges upon attaining age 70

SEC. 4. Any Judge shall be removed from office by
the Governor, on conviction in a Court of Law, ofmcom
petency, of wilful neglect of duty, misbehavior m office, or
any other cnme, or on impeachment, according to this
Constitution, or the Laws of the State, or on the address
of the General Assembly, two thirds of each House con
curnng in such address, and the accused having been
notified of the charges against him, and having had op
portunity of making his defence

SEC. 4A. There is created a Commission on Judicial
Disabilities composed of seven persons appointed by the
Governor of Maryland The members of the Commission
shall be citizens and residents of this State Four members
of the Commission shall be appointed from among the
judges of the appellate courts, the Circuit Courts, and the
District Court, two members shall be appointed from
among those persons who are admitted to practice of law
in the State, who have been so engaged for at least fifteen
years, and who are not judges of any court, and one member
shall represent the public, who shall not be a judge, active
or retired, and Vi ho is not admitted to the practice of law
in this State The term of office of each member shall be
for tour years commencing on January 1 following the
expiration of his predecessor's term Whenever any mem
ber of the Commission appointed from among judges in
the State ceases to be a Judge, when any member appointed
from among those admitted to pracuce law becomes a
judge, when any member representing the public becomes
a Judge or is admitted to the practice of law in this State, or
when any member ceases to be a resident of the State, in
such case the membership of this member shall forthwith
terminate Any vacancies on the Commission shall be filled
for the unexpired term by the Governor in the same manner
as tor making of appointments to the Commission and
subject to the same qualifications which were applicable to
the person causing the vacancy No member of the Corn
mission shall receive any compensation for his services as
such but shall be allowed any expenses necessarily incurred
in the performance of his duties as such member

SEC. 4B.¹⁰³ (a) The Commission on Judicial Disabili
ties has the power to investigate complaints against any

judge of the Court of Appeals, am. intermediate courts of
appeal, the Circuit Courts, the District Court of Man
land, or the Orphans' Court, and to conduct heanngs
concerning such complaints, administer oaths and affirma
nons, issue process to compel the attendance oj witnesses
and the producuon of evidence, and rcc|inre persons to
testify and produce evidence b\ granting them immunity
from prosecution or from penalty or torteiturc The C om
mission has the power to issue a reprimand and the power
to recommend to the Court of Appeals the removal,
censure or other appropriate disciplining of a judge or, in
an appropriate case, retirement All proceedings, tcsti
mony, and evidence before the Commission shall be con
fidential and privileged, except as provided b\ rule of the
Court of Appeals, the record and an\ proceeding tiled with
the Court of Appeals shall lose its confidential character,
except as ordered by the Court of Appeals No judge shall
participate as a member of the Commission in an\ pro
ceedings involving his own conduct, and the Governor
shall appoint another judge as a substitute member of the
Commission for those proceedings The Court of Appeals
shall prescribe by rule the means to implement and enforce
the powers of the Commission and the practice and
procedure before the Commission

(b) Upon any recommendation of the Commission,
the Court of Appeals, after a hearing and upon a finding
of misconduct while in office, or of persistent hilure to
perform the duties of his office, or of conduct prejudicial
to the proper administration of justice, ma\ remove the
Judge from office or may censure or otherwise discipline
him, or the Court of Appeals, after hearing and upon a
finding of disability which is or is likely to become perma
nent and which seriously interferes with the performance
of his duties, may retire the Judge from ofhcc A judge
removed under this section, and his sur\ i\ ing spouse, shall
have the rights and pnulegei, accruing from his judicial
service only to the extent prescribed b\ the order of
removal A Judge retired under this section shall ha\e the
rights and privileges prescribed by law tor other retired
judges No Judge of the Court of Appeals shall sit in
Judgment in any hearing mvobmg his own conduct

(c) This section is alternative to, and cumulative with,
the methods of retirement and removal pro\ided in Sec
tions 3 and 4 of this Article, and in Section 26 of Article
III of this Constitution

104
SEC. 5. Upon every occurrence or recurrence of a

vacancy through death, resignation, removal, disquahhca
tion by reason of age or otherwise, or expiration of the
term of fifteen years of any judge of a circuit court, or
creation of the office of any such Judge, or in an, other
way, the Governor shall appoint a person dul\ qualified to
fill said office, who shall hold the same until the election
and qualificauon of his successor His successor shall be
elected at the first biennial general election tor Reprc
sentauves in Congress after the expiration of the term of
fifteen years (if the vacancy occurred in that \\a\) or the
first such general election after one }car after the occur
rence of the vacancy in an) other wav than through
expiration of such term Except in case of reappointmcnt