Marvin Mandel, Governor                          1257

wise under this pension plan, shall contribute toward the cost of his
pension an amount equal to six per centum (6%) of his annual
compensation which shall be deducted from his compensation each
pay period and paid to the State Treasurer. Contributions shall not
be retroactive with respect to those full-time judges already in office
and carried over into the District Court by the provisions of this
Act but shall commence for those judges on the effective date of this
Act. The election provided for in this subsection must be exercised
within six (6) months of the first Monday in July 1970 1971 provided
that any judge who initially does not elect to be under the pension
plan provided for in this section but later wishes to do so, must, upon
such election, pay in a lump sum in addition to the annual contri-
butions provided for in this subsection, an amount equal to the con-
tributions he would have made if initially under the plan for each year
after the first Monday in July 1970 1971, plus interest of four percent
(4%). The provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this
Section 143 shall apply to the full-time judges of the People's Courts
of Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Montgomery, Wicomico and
Baltimore City and the Municipal Court of Baltimore City who
retired prior to the effective date of this Act.

145. Jurisdiction and Venue.

(a)    The jurisdiction of the District Court shall extend to all
cases which arise within the boundaries of this State or are sub-
ject to the State's judicial power, and which are within the limita-
tions imposed by this subtitle, but the exercise of this jurisdiction
shall be subject to restrictions of venue as established by this sub-
title.

(b)    Criminal and Traffic Jurisdiction.

(1)    Traffic. The District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear,
try, and determine the case of any person who has attained his
sixteenth (16th) birthday, or of any corporation, charged with the
commission of an offense arising under Article 66½ of the Anno-
tated Code of Maryland (1957 Edition, as amended), generally
known as the Motor Vehicle Code, except for any offense therein
specifically designated as a felony and except for the offenses specifi-
cally enumerated in Article 26, Section 70-2, (d) (2) of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, 1957 Edition as amended.

(2)    Criminal. The District Court shall have jurisdiction to
hear, try, and determine the case of any person who has attained his
eighteenth (18th) birthday, or of any corporation, charged with the
commission of:

(i) Any common law or statutory misdemeanor,

(ii) A violation of any county, municipal or other ordinance if
the offense charged is not a felony.

(3)    Preliminary Hearings. The District Court shall also have
jurisdiction to conduct hearings in felony cases to determine if the
defendant shall be held for action of the grand jury.

(4) Concurrent and Exclusive Jurisdiction. In any case de-
scribed in paragraphs 1 or 2 of Subsection (b) hereof in which the
penalty may be confinement of three (3) years or more or a fine