PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor                             Ch. 148

(1995 Replacement Volume and 1995 Supplement
(As enacted by Section 1 of this Act)

Preamble

WHEREAS,—The Circuit Court for Baltimore City has assumed the responsibility
of trying all asbestos related personal injury cases filed in the State of Maryland;

WHEREAS,—More than 12,000 of these cases are awaiting trial in the Baltimore
City Circuit Court, the majority of which were filed more than five years ago; and

WHEREAS,—Since 1982, less than 300 asbestos-related cases have been resolved
by a trial in Maryland, while more than 158,000 nonasbestos tort claims have been cleared
from Maryland courts and a total of 1.4 million civil actions in Maryland have been
terminated between 1980 and 1994; and

WHEREAS,—Article 19 of the Declaration of Rights of the Maryland Constitution
guarantees that every citizen, "for any injury done to him in his person, ought to have
remedy by the course of the Law of the land, and ought to have justice and right, freely
without sale, fully without any denial, and speedily without any delay, according to the
Law of the land"; and

WHEREAS,—More than one-half of the violent crimes in Maryland occur in
Baltimore City; and

WHEREAS, The felony docket in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City has
experienced a 36% increase since January 1, 1995; and

WHEREAS,—The judicial resources of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City are
simply inadequate to ensure compliance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Maryland
Declaration of Rights; now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Courts and Judicial Proceedings

1-503.

(a) In each county in the first seven judicial circuits there shall be the number of
resident judges of the circuit court set forth below, including the judge or judges provided
for by the Constitution:

(1)     Allegany.................................................................................................... 2

(2)     Anne Arundel........................................................................................... 9

(3)     Baltimore County................................................................................... 15

(4)     Calvert....................................................................................................... 2

(5)     Caroline.................................................................................................... 1

(6)     Carroll....................................................................................................... 3

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