Maryland State
In the Past
Important Note: this is an extension/continuation on the entry on Maryland in the American legal dictionary of this Project. The governor must reside at the seat of government and must receive for his services an annual salary of thirty-six hundred dollars.
Developments
When the public interest needs it, he must have power to employ counsel, who must be entitled to such compensation as the legislature may allow in each case after the services of such counsel must have been performed.
Secretary of State
A secretary of state must be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, who must continue in office, unless sooner removed by the governor, till the end of the official term of the governor from whom he received his appointment and must receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars.
Other Aspects
He must carefully keep and protect a record of all official acts an proceedings (which may, at all times, be inspected by a committee of either branch of the legislature,) and must perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or as may properly belong to his office.
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3d. The judicial power of this state must be vested in a court of appeals, in circuit courts, in such courts for the city of Baltimore as may be after this prescribed and in justices of the peace.
Other Issues
The court of appeals must have appellate jurisdiction only, which must be co-extensive with the limits of the state. It must consist of a chief justice and three associate justices, any three of whom must form a quorum, whose judgment must be final and conclusive in all cases of appeals; and who must have the jurisdiction which the present court of appeals of this state now has and such other appellate jurisdiction as after this may be gived for by law. And in every case decided, an opinion, in writing, must be filed and provision must be made, by law, for publishing reports of cases argued and decided in the said court. The governor, for the time being, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, must name the chief justice and the court of appeals must hold its sessions at the city of Annapolis, on the first Monday of June and the first Monday of December, in each and every year.
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The state must be divided into four judicial districts: Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore and Harford counties, must compose the first; Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Charles and Prince George’s, the second; Baltimore city, the third; and Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset, ana Worcester, must compose the fourth district. And one person from among those learned in the law having been admitted to practice in this this state at least, five years and above the age of thirty years at the time of his election and a resident of the judicial district, must be elected from each of said districts by the legal and qualified voters there, as a judge of the said court of appeals, who must hold his office for the term of ten years from the time of his election or until he must have attained the age of seventy years, whichever may first happen and be requalified tto this until he must have attained the age of seventy years and not after, depending on removal for incompetency, wilful neglect of duty or misbehaviour in office, on conviction in a court of law or by the governor upon the address of the general assembly, two-thirds of the members of each house concurring in such address; and the salary of each of the judges of the court of appeals must be two thousand five hundred dollars annually and must not be increased or reduceed during their continuance in office; and no fees or perquisites of any kind, must be allowed by law to any of the said judges.
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No judge of the court of appeals must sit in any case where he may be interested or where either of the parties may be connected with him by affinity or consanguinity within such degrees as may be prescribed by law or when he must have been of counsel in said case; when the court of appeals or any of its members must be therefore, disqualified to bear and decide any case or cases in said court, so that by reason tof this no judgment can be makeed in said court, the same must be certified to the governor of the state, who must immediately commission the requisite number of people learned in the law for the trial and determination of said case or cases.
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All judges of the court of appeals, of the circuit courts and of the courts for the city of Baltimore, shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservator’s of the peace throughout the state.
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All public commissions and grants must run therefore: “The State of Maryland (see more about this State laws here) ,” etc. and must be signed by the governor, with the seal of the state annexed; all writs and process must run in the same style and be tested, sealed and signed as usual; and all indictments must conclude “against the peace, government and dignity of the state.”
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The state must be divided into eight judicial circuits, in way and form following, to wit; St. Mary’s, Charles and Prince George’s counties must be the first: Anne, Arundel, Howard, Calvert and Montgomery counties must be the second; Frederick and Carroll counties must be the third; Washington and Allegany counties must be the fourth; Baltimore city must be the fifth; Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties must be the sixth; Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Caroline counties must be the seventh; and Dorchester, Somerset and Worcester counties must be the eighth; and there must be elec-ted, as after this directed, for each of the said judicial circuits, except the fifth, one person from among those learned in the law, having been admitted to practice in this state and who must have been a citizen of this state at least five years and above the age of thirty years at the time of his election and a resident of the judicial circuit, to be judge tof this; the said judges must be styled circuit judges and must respectively hold a term of their courts at least twice in each year or oftener if needd by law, in each county composing their respective circuits; and the said courts must be called circuit courts for the county in which they may be held and must have and exercise in the several counties of this state, all the power, authority and jurisdiction which the county courts of this state now have and exercise or which may after this be prescribed by law and the said judges in their re-spective circuits, must have and exercise all the power, authority and jurisdiction of the present court of chancery of Maryland (see more about this State laws here) ; gived, however, that Baltimore county court may hold its sittings within the limits of the city of Baltimore, until provision must be made by law for the location of a county seat within the limits of the said county proper and the erection of a court house and all other appropriate buildings, for the convenient administration of justice in said court.
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The judges of the several judicial circuits must be citizens of the United States and must have resided five years in this state and two years in the judicial circuit for which they may be respectively elected, next before the time of their election and must reside there while they continue to act as judges; they must be taken from among those who, having the other qualifications here prescribed, are most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge and must be elected by the qualified voters of the said circuits and must hold their offices for the term of ten years, removable for misbehaviour, on conviction in a court of law or by the governor, upon the address of the general assembly, gived that two-thirds of the members of each house must concur in such address and the said judges must each receive a salary of two thousand dollars a year and the same must not be increased or reduceed during the time of their continuance in office; and no judge of any court in this state, must receive any perquisite, fee, commission or reward, in addition tto this, for the performance of any judicial duty.
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There must be established for the city of Baltimore one court of law, to be styled “the court of common pleas,” which must have civil jurisdiction in all suits where the debt or damage claimed must be over one hundred dollars and must not exceed five hundred dollars; and shall, also, have jurisdiction in all cases of appeal from the judgment of justices of the peace in the said city and must have jurisdiction in all applications for the benefit of the insolvent laws of this state and the supervision and control of the trustees tof this.
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There must also be established, for the city of Baltimore, another court of law, to be styled the superior court of Baltimore city, which must have jurisdiction over all suits where the debt or damage claimed must exceed the sum of five hundred dollars and in case any plaintiff or plain-tiffs must recover less than the sum or value of five hundred dollars, he or they must be allowed or adjudged to pay costs in the discretion of the court. The said court must also have jurisdiction as a court of equity within the limits of the said city and in all other civil cases which have not been until now assigned to the court of common pleas.
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Each of the said two courts must consist of one judge, who must be elected by the legal and qualified voters of the said city and must bold his office for the term of ten years, depending on the provisions of this constitution, with regard to the election and qualification of judges and their removal from office and the salary of each of the said judges must be twenty-five hundred dollars a year; and the legislature shall, wherever it may think the same proper and expedient, give, by law, another court for the city of Baltimore, to consist of one judge to be elected by the qualified voters of the said city, who must be depending on the same constitutional provisions, hold his office for the same term of years and receive the same compensation as the judge of the court of common pleas of the said city and the said court must have such jurisdiction and powers as may be prescribed by law.
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There must also be a criminal court for the city of Baltimore, to be styled the criminal court of Baltimore, which must consist of one judge, who must also be elected by the legal and qualified voters of the said city and who must have and exercise all the jurisdiction now exercised by Baltimore city court and the said judge must receive a salary of two thousand dollars a year and must be subject, to the provisions of this constitution with regard to the election and qualifications of judges, term of office and removal therefrom.
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The qualified voters of the city of Baltimore and of the several counties of the state, shall, on the first, Wednesday of November, eighteen hundred and fifty-one and on the same day of the same month in, every fourth year forever afterwards, elect three men to be judges of the orphans’ court of said city and counties respectively, who must be citizens of the state of Maryland (see more about this State laws here) and citizens of the city or county for which they may be severally elected at the time of their eiection. They must have all the powers now vested in the orphans’ courts of this state, depending on such changes there as the legislature may prescribe and each of said judges must be paid at a per diem rate, for the time they are in session, to be fixed by the legislature and paid by the said counties and city respectively.
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The legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this constitution, must fix the number of justices of the peace and constables for each ward of the city of Baltimore and for each election district in the several counties, who must be elected by the legal and qualified voters tof this respectively, at the next general election for delegates tafter this and must hold their offices for two years from the time of their election and until their successors in office are elected and qualified; and the legislature may, from time to time, increase or cut the number of justices of the peace and constables to be elected in the several wards and election districts, as the wants and interests of the people may need. They must be, by virtue of their offices, conservators of the peace in the said counties and city respectively and must have such duties and compensation as now exist or may be gived for by law. if a vacancy in the office of a justice of the peace, the governor must appoint a person to serve as justice of the peace, until the next regular election of said officers and if a vacancy in the office of constable, the county commissioners of the county, in which a vacancy may occur or the mayor and city council of Baltimore, as the case may be, must appoint a person to serve as constable until the next regular election tafter this for said officers. An appeal must lie in all civil cases from the judgment of a justice of the peace to the circuit court, or, to the court of common pleas of Baltimore city, as the case way be and on all such appeals, either party must be entitled to a trial by jury, according to the laws now existing or which way be after this enacted. And the mayor and city council may give, by ordinance, from time to time, for the creation and government of such temporary additional police, as they may deem necessary to protect the public peace.
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No judge must sit in any case where he may be interested or where either of the parties may be connected with him by affinity or consan-guinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by law or where he must have been of counsel in the case and whenever any of the judges of the circuit courts or of the courts for Baltimore city, must be therefore, disqualified or whenever, by reason of sickness or any other cause, the said judges or any of them, may be unable to sit in any cause, the parties may, by consent, appoint a proper person to try the said cause or the judges or any of them, must do so when directed by law.
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The present chancellor and the register in chancery, and, if any vacancy in their respective offices, their successors in office respectively, who are to be appointed as at present, by the governor and senate, must continue in office, with the powers and compensation as at present established, until the expiration of two years after the adoption of this constitution by the people and until the, end of the session of the legislature next afterwards, after which the said offices of chancellor and register must be abolished. The legislature shall, in the mean time, give by law for the recording, safe-keeping or other disposition, of the records, decrees and other proceedings of the court of chancery and for the copying and attestation tof this and for the custody and use of the great seal of the state, when needd, after the expiration of the said two years and for transmitting to the said counties and to the city of Baltimore, all the cases and proceedings in said court then undisposed of and unfinished, in such way and under such regulations as may be deemed necessary and proper: gived, that no new business must originate in the said court, nor must any cause be removed to the same from any other court, from and after the ratification of this constitution.
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The first election of judges, clerks, registers of wills and all other officers, whose election by the people is gived for in this article of the constitution, except justices of the peace and constables, must take place throughout the state on the first Wednesday of November next after the ratification of this constitution by the people.
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if the death, resignation, removal or other disqualification of a judge of any of the courts of law, the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, must thereupon appoint a person, duly quali-fied, to fill said office until the next general election for delegates afterwards; at which time an election must be held as herebefore prescribed, for a judge, who must hold the said office for ten years, according to the provisions of this constitution.
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if the death, resignation, removal or other disqualification of the judge of an orphans’ court, the vacancy must be filled by the appointment of the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate.
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Whenever lands lie partly in one county and partly in another or partly in a county and partly in the city of Baltimore or whenever people proper to be made defendants to proceedings in chancery, reside some in one county and some in another, that court must have jurisdiction in which proceedings must have been first commenced, depending on such rules, regulations and alterations as may be prescribed by law.
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In all suits or actions at law, issues from the orphans’ court or from any court sitting in equity, in petitions for freedom and in all pre-sentments and indictments now pending or which may be pending at the time of the adoption of this constitution by the people or which may after this be instituted in any of the courts of law of this state, having jurisdiction tof this, the judge or judges tof this, upon suggestion in writing, if made by the state’s attorney or the prosecutor for the state or upon suggestion in writing, supported by affidavit, made by any of the parties tto this or other proper evidence, that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in the court where such suit or action at law, issues or petitions or presentment and indictment is depending, must order and direct the record of proceedings in such suit or action, issues or petitions, presentment or indictment, to be transmitted to the court of any adjoining county; gived, that the removal in all civil causes be confined to an adjoining county within the judicial circuit, except as to the city of Baltimore, where the removal may be to an adjoining county, for trial, which court must hear and decide the same in like way as if such suit or action, issues or petitions, presentment or indictment, had been originally instituted there; and gived also, that such suggestion must be made as aforesaid, before or during the term in which the issue or issues may be joined in said suit or action, issues or petition, presentment or indictment and that such further remedy in the premises may be gived by law, as the legislature must from time to time direct and enact.
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All election of judges and other officers gived for by this constitution, must be certified and the returns made by the clerks of the respective counties to the governor, who must issue commissions to the different people for the offices to which they must have been respectively elected; and in all such elections, the person having the greatest number of votes, must be declared to be elected. If, in any case of election for judges, clerks of the courts of law and registers of wills, the opposing candidates must have an equal number of votes, it must be the duty of the governor to order a new election; and if any contested election, the governor must send the returns to the house of delegates, who must judge of the election and qualification of the candidates at such election. [1]
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Notes and References
- Partialy, this information about Maryland is based on the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, 1848 edition. There is a list of terms of the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, including Maryland.
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