of a judge upon expiration of his term of fifteen years, no
person shall be appointed who will become disqualified by
reason of age and thereby unable to continue to hold office
until the prescribed time when his successor would have
been elected

SEC. 5A.¹⁰⁵ (a) A vacancy m the office ofa)udge of
an appellate court, whether occasioned by the death,
resignation, removal, retirement, disqualification by rea
son of age, or rejection by the voters of an incumbent, the
creation of the office of a Judge, or otherwise, shall be filled
as provided in this section

(b) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy the Governor
shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, a person duly qualified to fill said office who shall
hold the same until the election for continuance in office
as provided in subsections (c) and (d)

(c) The continuance in office of a judge of the Court
of Appeals is subject to approval or re,ecuon by the
registered voters of the appellate judicial circuit from
which he was appointed at the next general election
following the expiration of one year from the date of the
occurrence of the vacancy which he was appointed to fill,
and at the general election next occurring every ten years
thereafter

(d) The continuance in office of a judge of the Court
of Special Appeals is subject to approval or rejection by the
registered voters of the geographical area prescribed by
law at the next general election following the expiration
of one year from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy
which he was appointed to fill, and at the general election
next occurring every ten years thereafter

(e) The approval or rejection by the registered voters of
a Judge as provided tor in subsections (c) and (d) shall be a
vote for the Judge's retention in office for a term often years
or his removal The Judge's name shall be on the appropriate
ballot, without opposition, and the voters shall vote yes or
no for his retention in office If the voters re)ect the retention
in office of a Judge, or if the vote is ued, the office becomes
vacant ten days after certification of the election returns

(f) An appellate court Judge shall retire when he attains
his seventieth birthday

(g) A member of the General Assembly who is other-
wise qualified for appointment to Judicial office is not
disqualified by reason of his membership in a General
Assembly which proposed or enacted any constitutional
amendment or statute affecting the method of selection
Continuance in office, or retirement or removal of a Judge,
the creation or abolition of a court, an increase or decrease
in the number of Judges of any court, or an increase or
decrease in the salary, pension or other allowances of any
Judge

SEC. 6.¹⁰⁶ All Judges shall, by virtue of their offices,
be Conservators of the Peace throughout the State, and
no fees, or perquisites, commission, or reward of any kind
shall be allowed to any Judge in this State, besides his
annual salary, for the discharge of any Judicial duty

SEC. 7. No Judge shall sit in any case wherein he may
be interested, or where either of the parues may be

connected with him, by affinity or consanguinity, within
such degrees as now are, or may hereafter be prescribed
by Law, or where he shall have been of counsel in the case

SEC. 8. (a) The parties to any cause may submit
the same to the Court for determination without the aid
of a jury

(b) In all cases of presentments or indictments for
offenses that are punishable by death, on suggestion in
writing under oath of either of the parties to the proceed
ings that the party cannot have a fair and impartial trial in
the court in which the proceedings may be pending, the
court shall order and direct the record of proceedings in
the presentment or indictment to be transmitted to some
other court having jurisdiction in such case for trial

(c) In all other cases of presentment or indictment, and
in all suits or actions at law or issues from the Orphans'
Court pending in any of the courts of law in this State
which have jurisdiction over the cause or case, in addition
to the suggestion in writing of either of the parties to the
cause or case that the party cannot have a fair and impartial
trial in the court m which the cause or case may be
pending, it shall be necessary for the part} making the
suggestion to make it satisfactorily appear to the court that
the suggestion is true, or that there is reasonable ground
for the same, and thereupon the court shall order and
direct the record of the proceedings in the cause or case
to be transmitted to some other court, having Jurisdiction
in the cause or case, tor trial The right of removal also
shall exist on suggestion in a cause or case in which all the
judges of the court may be disqualified under the provi
sions of this Constitution to sit The court to which the
record of proceedings in such suit or action, issue, present
ment or indictment is transmitted, shall hear and deter
mine that cause or case in the same manner as if it had
been originally instituted in that court The General As
sembly shall modify the existing law as may be necessary
to regulate and give force to this provision

108

SEC. 9. The Judge, or Judges of any Court, may
appoint such officers for their respective Courts as may be
found necessary The Genera] Assembly may provide, by
Law, for compensation for all such officers, and the said
Judge or Judges shall, from time to time, investigate the
expenses, costs and charges of their respective courts, with
a view to a change or reduction thereof, and report the
result of such investigation to the General Assembly for its
action

SEC. 10.¹⁰⁹ (a) (1) The Clerks of the Courts shall
have charge and custody of records and other papers and
shall perform all the duties which appertain to their offices,
as are regulated by Law (2) The office and business of the
Clerks, in all their departments, shall be subject to and
governed in accordance with rules adopted by the Court
of Appeals pursuant to Section 18 of this article

(b) The offices of the Clerks shall be funded through
the State budget All fees, commissions, or other revenues
established by Law for these offices shall be State revenues,
unless provided otherwise by the Genera! Assembly

SEC. 11. The election for Judges, herein before
provided, and all elections for Clerks, Registers of Wills,