Comments on buzoncrime: The Sun's article on expungement

Perhaps, but though Maryland is the wealthiest sta...

2008-07-29T14:28:00.000-04:00

Perhaps, but though Maryland is the wealthiest state, Baltimore is by far its poorest city. And the last session of the legislature showed that the electorate hasn't the slightest stomach for new taxes of any kind.

There is so much crime.........The only viable solution is to amend the laws, so that a much larger number of cases don't qualify for a jury trial. (Of course, it would be nice if there was less crime, but that is going to be a long-haul process.)

In most counties, preying for a jury trial is a la...

2008-07-28T13:43:00.000-04:00

In most counties, preying for a jury trial is a last resort while in district court. The circuit court judges are usually tougher resulting in harsher penalties if the accused is found guilty. In Baltimore however, the system is so FUBAR that the standard practice in the defense bar is to PJT unless it's a select handful of district court judges. This results in the circuit court docket being swamped with not only with the ample cases that they have exclusive original jurisdiction over, but all of the concurrent jurisdiction cases, resulting in the need of the state to offer ridiculous plea bargains to clear the docket. Even then people languish in jail for months and months awaiting trial, but are often told no courtroom available when their trial date does come.

We need either need more court houses, or enough judges to start night court.

In the earlier years, I believe the public defende...

2008-07-21T12:26:00.000-04:00

In the earlier years, I believe the public defender would not represent anyone for the real minor charges. Eventually, though, the office of Pre-Trial Release had investigators in every lockup most of the time; those who were deemed indigent qualified for representation based on a cursory investigation.

Clearly, there is something wrong with the system now; district court is like a circus most days; and circuit court is generally plea-bargain city.

Would the OPD get the cases that morning as well? ...

2008-07-21T11:51:00.000-04:00

Would the OPD get the cases that morning as well? Was a PD even assigned in most cases?

Despite popular opinion on Baltimore Crime, it's quite clear the SAO needs more money, ASAs and support staff.

Even more pressing is the need for more court rooms and Judges.

Each district (except Northeastern) had their own ...

2008-07-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

Each district (except Northeastern) had their own courtroom and assigned ASA; judges would rotate thru for a month or two. The trials were actually held in a courtroom in a separate wing of the police building. The now-existing court buildings on Wabash and North Avenue didn't exist then.
After their arrest, they would see Pre-Trial Release Investigators and a Court Commissioner. As I mentioned, minor cases were held over till the next morning. Many times, judges would tell the defendants:"you need to get your booze or drug problem fixed. I don't want to see you again, or you're going to jail for a while." They don't get that now.
However, the judges felt that their hearing cases and having offices in the police station gave the appearance of a lack of judicial impartiality. So the court buildings were created at the huge cost of building and staffing; people still think "the system" is against them. But, now, at least, the judges can claim to be truly impartial. (And most have always really tried to be fair.)
Oh, and thanks for the compliment!

Very interesting post. Back in the day before Cent...

2008-07-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

Very interesting post. Back in the day before Central Booking where would arrestees get their first hearing in the morning? Would they all be driven to district court, or were minor cases actually handled by an ASA at the station?