BENCH/BAR UPDATE By Raphael J. Santini The April meeting of the Bench Bar Committee was called to order by Chairman Fred Allentoff on April 11, 2019. Judge Kathleen Cox gave the Circuit Court Bench report. MDEC is still keeping everybody busy. The Clerk’s Office is working overtime and temporary summer staff is being hired. She will be reviewing MDEC “deficiency” issues and policies. The members of the Bar are invited to bring to her attention any problems in order to refine the process. “MDEC” filed orders should follow this procedure: (1) do not include any line for a date in the order. When a Judge electronically signs an order, the date and time are automatically added to the Judge’s signature. (2) If a date must be added to the body of the order use the following: ORDERED, this ______________ that the Plaintiff . . . Judge Dorothy Wilson gave the District Court Bench report. The Catonsville District Court will hopefully open on September 1, 2019. The legislature has approved TWO new District Judgeships for Baltimore County! The advertisement for these positions has not been set. Currently there is no expedited jail docket in criminal cases for defendants which are incarcerated. Unfortunately this is an MDEC issue. The solution is to request the case be advanced. If a request is not made, the case will remain on the original Court date and location. Maria Fields gave the District Court Administration report. The Clerk’s Office is working hard on scanning files. There are thousands of post judgment collection matters which are being addressed. Julie Ensor gave the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office report. Land Records can be electronically filed statewide. When correcting a deficiency, please cite the envelope number and add a note to the Clerk. When calling the Clerk’s Office know the envelope number.
THE ADVOCATE
President Rebecca A. Fleming gave the Executive Council report. Bar Wars Trivia is on April 25th at C&R Pub. Ten percent of the revenue was given to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Eagle’s Nest Country Club shall host the Annual Golf Tournament on May 29th. Administrative Law Judge William Somerville gave the Office of Administrative Hearings report. Five new ALJs were sworn in or April 1st. ALJ Tara Lehner announced her retirement. Orphan’s Court Judge William Evans gave the Orphan’s Court report. There are new laws on Elective Share and Family Allowance, please review the Statute. Harry Chase reported that Judge Bollinger’s portrait unveiling is not scheduled and Judge Dugan’s portrait is “in the works.” Debra Schubert gave the Harford County report. The new Jury Assembly Room will hold 150 potential jurors which should increase the number of jury trials to be conducted in Harford County. Judge Eaves is revising the criminal docketing procedure. Laurie Wasserman gave the Family Law Committee Report. On April 17th the Woodholme County Club hosted the second annual Multi-Judicial Family Law Dinner. Judges from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County and Carroll County will be presenting at the dinner. May 16th will be the Family Law update. Mary Sanders, Dr. Santora and Jennifer Brandt will be presenting on how to settle a high conflict custody cases. The Young Lawyers report was given by Craig Borchers. The bull roast raised over $6,000.00 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Details of upcoming events will be available on the Baltimore County website.
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June 2019