USA > Maryland > Leading events of Maryland history; with topical analyses, references, and questions for original thought and research > Part 22
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Supreme Bench - Rules - Jurisdiction on motions
Sec. 33. The said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City shall have power, and it shall be its duty, to provide for the holding of as many general Terms as the performance of its duties may require, such general Terms to be held by not less than three Judges ; to make all needful rules and regulations for the conduct of business in each of the said Courts, during the session thereof, and in vacation, or in Chambers, before any of said Judges ; and shall also have
1 Increased by Act of 1892, ch. 388, to four thousand five hundred dollars.
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jurisdiction to hear and determine all motions for a new trial in cases tried in any of said Courts, where such motions arise, either on questions of fact, or for misdirection upon any matters of Law, and all motions in arrest of judg- ment, or upon any matters of Law determined by the said Judge, or Judges, while holding said several Courts ; and the said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City shall make all needful rules and regulations for the hearing before it of all said matters ; and the same right of appeal to the Court of Appeals shall be allowed from the determination of the said Court on such matters, as would have been the right of the parties if said matters had been decided by the Court in which said cases were tried.
[The Judge, before whom any case may hereafter be tried, in either the Baltimore City Court, the Superior Court of Baltimore City, or the Court of Common Pleas, shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine, and the said Judge shall hear and determine all motions for a new trial where such motions arise, either on questions of fact or for misdirection upon any matters of law, and all motions in arrest of judgment, or upon any matters of law, determined by the said Judge, and all such motions shall be heard and determined within thirty days after they are made. ] 1
Appeals from Justices
Sec. 34. No appeal shall lie to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City from the decision of the Judge or the Judges holding the Baltimore City Court in case of appeal from a Justice of the Peace; but the decision by said Judge or Judges shall be final ; and all writs and other process issued out of either of said Courts, requiring attestation, shall be attested in the name of the Chief Judge of the said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City.
Quorum
Sec. 35. Three of the Judges of said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City shall constitute a quorum of said Court.
Cases pending
Sec. 36. All causes depending, at the adoption of this Constitution, in the Superior Court of Baltimore City, the Court of Common Pleas, the Criminal Court of Baltimore, and the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, shall be proceeded in, and prosecuted to final judgment or decree, in the Courts, respectively, of the same name established by this Constitution, except cases belonging to that class, jurisdiction over which is by this Constitution transferred to the
1 Thus amended by the Act of 1870, ch. 177, as provided by Section 39, of Article 4, of the Constitution.
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Baltimore City Court, all of which shall, together with all cases now pending in the City Court of Baltimore, be proceeded in and prosecuted to final judg- ment in said Baltimore City Court.
Clerks - Term - Salary - Vacancies
Sec. 37. There shall be a Clerk of each of the said Courts of Baltimore City, except the Supreme Bench, who shall be elected by the legal and quali- fied voters of said city, at the election to be held in said city on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and shall hold his office for six years from the time of his election, and until his successor is elected and qualified, and be re-eligible thereto, sub- ject to be removed for willful neglect of duty or other misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a Court of Law. The salary of each of the said Clerks shall be thirty-five hundred dollars a year, payable only out of the fees and receipts collected by the Clerks of said city, and they shall be entitled to no other perquisites or compensation. In case of a vacancy in the office of Clerk of any of said Courts, the Judges of said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City shall have power to fill such vacancy until the general election of Delegates to the General Assembly to be held next thereafter, when a Clerk of said Court shall be elected to serve for six years thereafter ; and the provisions of this Article in relation to the appointment of Deputies by the Clerks of the Circuit Courts in the counties shall apply to the Clerks of the Courts in Baltimore City.
Licenses
Sec. 38. The Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas shall have authority to issue within said city all marriage and other licenses required by law, subject to such provisions as are now or may be prescribed by Law. The Clerk of the Superior Court of said city shall receive and record all deeds, conveyances and other papers, which are or may be required by Law to be recorded in said city. He shall also have custody of all papers connected with the pro- ceedings on the Law or Equity side of Baltimore County Court and the dockets thereof, so far as the same have relation to the City of Baltimore, and shall also discharge the duties of Clerk to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City unless otherwise provided by Law.
Additional Court
Sec. 39. The General Assembly shall, whenever it may think the same proper and expedient, provide, by Law, another Court for the City of Balti- more, and prescribe its jurisdiction and powers ; in which case there shall be elected by the voters of said City, qualified under this Constitution, another
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Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, who shall be subject to the same constitutional provisions, hold his office for the same term of years, receive the same compensation, and have the same powers, as are herein pro- vided for the Judges of said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City; and all of the provisions of this Constitution relating to the assignment of Judges to the Courts, now existing in said City, and for the dispatch of business therein, shall apply to the Court, for whose creation provision is made by this Sec- tion.1 And the General Assembly may reapportion, change or enlarge the jurisdiction of the several Courts in Baltimore City. Until otherwise provided by Law, the Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, of the Court of Common Pleas, of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, of the Baltimore City Court, and of the Criminal Court of Baltimore, shall each give Bond in such penalty as is now prescribed by Law to be given by the Clerks of the Courts, bearing the same names, under the present Constitution.
Additional Judges
[Sec. 39. The General Assembly shall, as often as it may think the same proper and expedient, provide by Law for the election of an additional Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, and whenever provision is so made by the General Assembly, there shall be elected by the voters of said City another Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, who shall be subject to the same constitutional provisions, hold his office for the same term of years, receive the same compensation, and have the same powers as are, or shall be, provided by the Constitution or Laws of this State, for the Judges of said Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, and the General Assembly may provide by Laws, or the Supreme Bench by its rules, for requiring causes in any of the Courts of Baltimore City to be tried before the court without a jury, unless the litigants or some one of them shall within such reasonable time or times as may be prescribed, elect to have their causes tried before a jury. And the General Assembly may reapportion, change or enlarge the jurisdiction of the several Courts in said city. ] 2
1 Under this section, the General Assembly, by the Act of 1888, Chapter 194, established the Circuit Court No. 2 of Baltimore City, conferring upon it the same jurisdiction as that possessed by the Circuit Court of Baltimore City.
2 Thus amended by Chapter 313, Acts of 1892, ratified by the people November 7, 1893.
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Part V. - Orphans' Courts
Three Judges - Term - Jurisdiction - Per diem - Vacancies
Sec. 40. The qualified voters of the City of Baltimore, and of the several counties, shall on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November next, and on the same day in every fourth year thereafter, elect three men to be Judges of the Orphans' Courts of said city and counties, respectively, who shall be citizens of the State, and residents for the twelve months preceding, in the city, or county, for which they may be elected. They shall have all the powers now vested in the Orphans' Courts of the State, subject to such changes as the Legislature may prescribe. Each of said Judges shall be paid a per diem for the time they are actually in session, to be regulated by Law, and to be paid by the said city, or counties, respectively. In case of a vacancy in the office of Judge of the Orphans' Court the Governor shall appoint, subject to confirmation or rejection by the Senate, some suitable per- son to fill the same for the residue of the term.
Register of Wills - Term - Vacancy
Sec. 41. There shall be a Register of Wills in each county of the State and the City of Baltimore to be elected by the legal and qualified voters of said counties and city, respectively, who shall hold his office for six years from the time of his election, and until his successor is elected and qualified ; he shall be re-eligible, and subject at all times to removal for willful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office in the same manner that the Clerks of the Courts are removable. In the event of any vacancy in the office of the Reg- ister of Wills, said vacancy shall be filled by the Judges of the Orphans' Court, in which such vacancy occurs, until the next general election for Dele- gates to the General Assembly, when a Register shall be elected to serve for six years thereafter.
Part VI. - Justices of the Peace Appointment - Constables
Sec. 42. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint such number of Justices of the Peace, and the County Commis- sioners of the several counties, and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, respectively, shall appoint such number of Constables, for the several Election Districts of the counties and wards of the City of Baltimore, as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by Law; and Justices of the Peace and Constables so
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appointed shall be subject to removal by the Judge or Judges having criminal jurisdiction in the county or city, for incompetency, willful neglect of duty or misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a Court of Law. The Justices of the Peace and Constables so appointed and commissioned shall be Conservators of the Peace; shall hold their office for two years, and shall have such jurisdiction, duties and compensation, subject to such right of appeal in all cases from the judgment of Justices of the Peace, as hath been heretofore exercised, or shall be hereafter prescribed by Law.
Vacancies
Sec. 43. In the event of a vacancy in the office of a Justice of the Peace, the Governor shall appoint a person to serve as Justice of the Peace for the residue of the term; and in case of a vacancy in the office of Constable, the County Commissioners of the county in which the vacancy occurs, or the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, as the case may be, shall appoint a person to serve as Constable for the residue of the term.
Part VII. - Sheriffs
Election - Qualification - Term - Vacancy
Sec. 44. There shall be elected in each County, and in the City of Balti- more, in every second year, one person, resident in said County or City, above the age of twenty-five years, and at least five years preceding his elec- tion, a citizen of this State, to the office of Sheriff. He shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified ; shall be ineligible for two years thereafter ; shall give such bond, exercise such powers, and perform such duties as now are or may hereafter be fixed by law. In case of a vacancy by death, resignation, refusal to serve, or neglect to qualify, or give bond, or by disqualification, or removal from the County or City, the Governor shall appoint a person to be Sheriff for the remainder of the official term.
Coroners, &ºc.
Sec. 45. Coroners, Elisors and Notaries Public may be appointed for each County and the City of Baltimore in the manner, for the purpose and with the powers now fixed, or which may hereafter be prescribed by law.
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ARTICLE V ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND STATE'S ATTORNEY
Attorney-General Election -Term
Section I. There shall be an Attorney-General elected by the qualified voters of the State, on general ticket, on the Tuesday next after the first Mon- day in the month of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and on the same day in every fourth year thereafter, who shall hold his office for four years from the time of his election and qualification, and until his successor is elected and qualified, and shall be re-eligible thereto, and shall be subject to removal for incompetency, willful neglect of duty or misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a court of law.
Returns of election
Sec. 2. All elections for Attorney-General shall be certified to, and returns made thereof by the Clerks of the Circuit Courts for the several Counties, and the Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, to the Governor of the State, whose duty it shall be to decide on the election and qualification of the person returned ; and in case of a tie between two or more persons to designate which of said persons shall qualify as Attorney-General, and to administer the oath of office to the person elected.
Duties - Opinions - Salary
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to prosecute and de- fend on the part of the State all cases which at the time of his appointment and qualification, and which thereafter may be depending in the Court of Appeals, or in the Supreme Court of the United States by or against the State, or wherein the State may be interested ; and he shall give his opinion in writ- ing whenever required by the General Assembly, or either branch thereof, the Governor, the Comptroller, the Treasurer, or any State's Attorney, on any legal matter, or subject depending before them, or either of them; and when re- quired by the Governor or the General Assembly, he shall aid any State's Attorney in prosecuting any suit or action brought by the State in any Court of this State, and he shall commence and prosecute or defend any suit or action in any of said Courts, on the part of the State, which the General Assembly, or the Governor, acting according to law, shall direct to be commenced,
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prosecuted or defended ; and he shall receive for his services an annual salary of three thousand dollars ; but he shall not be entitled to receive any fees, perquisites or rewards whatever, in addition to the salary aforesaid, for the performance of any official duty ; nor have power to appoint any agent, rep- resentative or deputy, under any circumstances whatever; nor shall the Governor employ any additional counsel in any case whatever, unless author- ized by the General Assembly.
Qualifications
Sec. 4. No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney-General, who is not a citizen of this State, and a qualified voter therein, and has not resided and practiced Law in this State for at least ten years.
Vacancy
Sec. 5. In case of vacancy in the office of Attorney-General, occasioned by death, resignation, removal from the State or from office, or other disqualifica- tion, the said vacancy shall be filled by the Governor for the residue of the term thus made vacant.
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals and of the Commissioner of the Land Office, respectively, whenever a case shall be brought into said court or office, in which the State is a party or has interest, immediately to notify the Attorney-General thereof.
The State's Attorneys
Election - Term
Sec. 7. There shall be an Attorney for the State in each County and the City of Baltimore, to be styled " The State's Attorney," who shall be elected by the voters thereof, respectively, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and on the same day every fourth year thereafter; and shall hold his office for four years from the first Monday in January next ensuing his election, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified, and shall be re-eligible thereto, and be subject to removal therefrom for incompetency, willful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, on conviction in a Court of Law, or by a vote of two thirds of the Senate, on the recommendation of the Attorney-General.
Returns of election
Sec. 8. All elections for the State's Attorney shall be certified to and re- turns made thereof by the Clerks of the said counties and city to the Judges
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thereof having criminal jurisdiction, respectively, whose duty it shall be to decide upon the elections and qualifications of the persons returned ; and in case of a tie between two or more persons, to designate which of said persons shall qualify as State's Attorney, and to administer the oaths of office to the person elected.
Sec. 9. The State's Attorney shall perform such duties and receive such fees and commissions as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law, and if any State's Attorney shall receive any other fee or reward than such as is or may be allowed by Law, he shall, on conviction thereof, be removed from office ; provided, that the State's Attorney for Baltimore City shall have power to appoint one Deputy, at a salary of not more than fifteen hundred dollars per annum, to be paid by the State's Attorney out of the fees of his office, as has heretofore been practiced.
Fees
[Sec. 9. The State's Attorney shall perform such duties and receive such fees and commissions or salary, not exceeding three thousand dollars, as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law ; and if any State's Attorney shall receive any other fee or reward than such as is or may be allowed by law, he shall, on conviction thereof, be removed from office ; provided, that the State's Attorney for Baltimore City shall receive an annual salary of forty-five hundred dollars, and shall have power to appoint one deputy, at an annual salary, not exceeding three thousand dollars, and such other assistants at such annual salaries not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars each, as the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City may authorize and approve ; all of said salaries to be paid out of the fees of the said State's Attorney's office, as has heretofore been practiced.] 1
Qualifications
Sec. 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of State's Attorney who has not been admitted to practice Law in this State, and who has not resided for at least two years in the county or city in which he may be elected.
Vacancy
Sec. II. In case of vacancy in the office of State's Attorney, or of his removal from the county or city in which he shall have been elected, or on his conviction as herein specified, the said vacancy shall be filled by the Judge of the county or city, respectively, having criminal jurisdiction, in which said vacancy shall occur, for the residue of the term thus made vacant.
1 Thus amended by Act of 1900, ch. 185, ratified by the people at the November election, 190I.
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Duties
Sec. 12. The State's Attorney in each county, and the City of Baltimore, shall have authority to collect, and give receipt, in the name of the State, for such sums of money as may be collected by him, and forthwith make return of and pay over the same to the proper accounting officer. And the State's Attorney of each county, and the City of Baltimore, before he shall enter on the discharge of his duties, shall execute a bond to the State of Maryland, for the faithful performance of his duties, in the penalty of ten thousand dollars, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Judge of the Court having criminal jurisdiction in said counties or city.
ARTICLE VI
TREASURY DEPARTMENT
Comptroller - Salary - Treasurer - Term - Vacancies - Bonds
Section 1. There shall be a Treasury Department, consisting of a Comp- troller, chosen by the qualified electors of the State, at each regular election of members of the House of Delegates, who shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars ; and a Treasurer, to be appointed by the two Houses of the Legislature, at each regular session thereof, on joint ballot, who shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars; and the terms of office of the said Comptroller and Treasurer shall be for two years, and until their successors shall qualify ; and neither of the said officers shall be allowed, or receive any fees, commissions or perquisites of any kind in addition to his salary for the performance of any duty or services whatsoever. In case of a vacancy in either of the offices by death, or otherwise, the Gov- ernor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall fill such vacancy by appointment, to continue until another election, or a choice by the Legis- lature, as the case may be, and until the qualification of the successor. The Comptroller and the Treasurer shall keep their offices at the seat of Govern- ment, and shall take such oath, and enter into such bonds for the faithful discharge of their duties as are now, or may hereafter be prescribed by law.
Comptroller's duties
Sec. 2. The Comptroller shall have the general superintendence of the fiscal affairs of the State; he shall digest and prepare plans for the improve- ment and management of the revenue, and for the support of the public credit ; prepare and report estimates of the revenue and expenditures of the State ;
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superintend and enforce the prompt collection of all taxes and revenue ; adjust and settle, on terms prescribed by Law, with delinquent collectors and receivers of taxes and State revenue ; preserve all public accounts ; decide on the forms of keeping and stating accounts ; grant, under regulations prescribed by Law, all warrants for money to be paid out of the Treasury, in pursuance of appro- priations by Law, and countersign all checks drawn by the Treasury upon any bank or banks, in which the moneys of the State may, from time to time, be deposited ; prescribe the formalities of the transfer of stock, or other evidence of the State debt, and countersign the same, without which such evidence shall not be valid; he shall make to the General Assembly full reports of all his proceedings, and of the state of the treasury department within ten days after the commencement of each Session ; and perform such other duties as shall be prescribed by Law.
Treasurer's duties
Sec. 3. The Treasurer shall receive the moneys of the State, and, until otherwise prescribed by law, deposit them, as soon as received, to the credit of the State, in such bank or banks as he may, from time to time, with the approval of the Governor, select (the said bank or banks giving security, satis- factory to the Governor, for the safekeeping and forthcoming, when required, of said deposits), and shall disburse the same for the purposes of the State, according to law, upon warrants drawn by the Comptroller, and on checks countersigned by him, and not otherwise ; he shall take receipts for all moneys paid by him and receipts for moneys received by him shall be endorsed upon warrants signed by the Comptroller, without which warrants, so signed, no acknowledgment of money received into the Treasury shall be valid ; and upon warrants, issued by the Comptroller, he shall make arrangements for the pay- ment of the interest of the public debt, and for the purchase thereof, on account of the sinking fund. Every bond, certificate, or other evidence of the debt of the State shall be signed by the Treasurer, and countersigned by the Comptroller ; and no new certificate or other evidence intended to replace another shall be issued until the old one shall be delivered to the Treasurer, and authority executed in due form for the transfer of the same filed in his office, and the transfer accordingly made on the books thereof, and the cer- tificate 'or other evidence cancelled; but the Legislature may make provi- sions for the loss of certificates, or other evidences of the debt; and may prescribe, by Law, the manner in which the Treasurer shall receive and keep the moneys of the State.
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