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3773
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MARVIN MANDEL, Governor
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This bill, in the judgment of the Attorney General and
other competent legal authorities, is laced with most
serious ambiguities and uncertainties, most, if not all
of which had been addressed and resolved in the
Administration bill. The effect of this would be to
produce endless litigation, innumerable direct and
collateral attacks on the bill, the end result of which
would be uncertainty in the law and inevitable delays in
its actual implementation. In the bill itself is an
arsenal of weapons for those determined to see that it is
never enforced.
A copy of the Attorney General's Opinion is attached
to this veto message, and should be considered a part of
it.
One of the principal reasons that the criminal
justice system in general, and the judicial component of
that system in particular, is under such heavy attack
from the public is its allowance of seemingly endless
court proceedings, much of which arises from imperfectly
drafted criminal statutes. In the judgment of the
Attorney General, Senate Bill 106 would exacerbate,
rather than alleviate, this problem. In light of all of
the problems pointed out by the Attorney General, I
suspect that it would be years before anyone would know
whether, and to what extent, this bill could actually be
implemented.
I veto this bill reluctantly because of ay strong
belief in its objectives. However, I cannot assume the
responsibility for creating such uncertainty in the law
and the delays and confusion that would arise from it.
History has taught us so well how clear and precise a
bill of this type must be. I regret that the lesson has
not yet been learned.
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Sincerely,
Marvin Mandel
Governor
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Letter from State Law Department on Senate Bill No. 106
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May 23, 1977
The Honorable Marvin Mandel
Governor of Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
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