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Editorial Advisory Board: The embarrassing Bar Foundation theft
At this point we don’t know how much money was pilfered from the Maryland Bar Foundation, allegedly by a state bar association employee. What we do know — or at least, what is stated in a police report — is that between May 2011 and July 2012 the former employee withdrew $65,984 from the foundation’s bank account, an amount well above what the organization earned during the fiscal year end[...]
Editorial Advisory Board: Collateral damage in the war on leaks
There is a “war on leaks” being waged by the U.S. Department of Justice and it’s generating serious collateral damage to the freedom of the American press to gather and report the news. Revelations that DOJ secretly subpoenaed the telephone records of The Associated Press (AP) and executed a search warrant for email communications between a Fox News reporter and his source are more than chil[...]
Editorial Advisory Board: Mayor should veto the hiring mandate
The Baltimore City Council passed a bill that will require those awarded city contracts exceeding $300,000, or $5 million in subsidies, to hire at least 51 percent of new employees from among city residents. The bill’s purpose is to reduce unemployment in the city.
Editorial Advisory Board: 20 questions for the next chief judge
We think that the selection of the next Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland is very important — so important that we pose the following questions for Governor O’Malley to ask each of the candidates for this position:
Editorial Advisory Board: An extraordinary case of justice delayed
In late 2004, Mr. Jaron Tyree Grade was convicted of a double homicide and sentenced to two life terms. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed, and Grade’s case was argued before the Court of Appeals of Maryland on Oct. 3, 2007.
Editorial Advisory Board: A tax which steps over the line
Maryland’s Constitution requires that the State maintain a balanced budget. During recent years, the State has been bedeviled by enormous annual deficit projections as, despite the so-called “Great Recession,” Maryland has steadily increased its annual spending.
Editorial Advisory Board: More fairness, less fighting over custody awards
As usual, there are numerous bills pertaining to family law being considered by the General Assembly this session. Unusually, however, there is no bill requiring a presumption in favor of joint custody. For that, the Editorial Advisory Board of The Daily Record is very glad. Instead, House Bill 687 proposes the creation of a Commission on Child Custody Decision Making.
Editorial Advisory Board: And the beat goes on, and on, and on
In prior columns, this board has taken the Baltimore Police Department and the city to task for conduct that has violated the constitutional rights of the citizens of Baltimore. Now, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Gauvey has taken a team of lawyers representing the department to task — and for much the same reason.
Editorial Advisory Board: It’s time to finally repeal Maryland’s death penalty
Two years ago, this Editorial Advisory Board urged the lawmakers to repeal Maryland’s death penalty. We do so once again — and this year, it might actually happen. Already, the House of Delegates’ abolition bill has at least 66 co-sponsors, more than ever before, and perhaps Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will allow a floor vote in the Senate this year.
Editorial Advisory Board: Legal education – Stopping the graveyard spiral
The New York Times reported extensively last week on the impending crisis facing all but the most elite of U.S. law schools and the measures some institutions are taking to counteract it. But more is needed.
Editorial Advisory Board: Guns and the severely mentally ill
Perhaps the most sensitive issue the General Assembly could face in this session is the issue of guns in the hands of persons who are severely mentally ill. The General Assembly is well-prepared to handle that issue because, in a prescient move in 2012, it directed the creation of a Task Force to Study Access of Mentally Ill Individuals to Regulated Firearms. That Task Force, made up of law enforc[...]
Editorial Advisory Board: The Daily Record – Who needs it?
We, the Editorial Advisory Board of this paper, work for nothing. Well, more or less nothing, as journalistic exactitude demands disclosure that the paper’s publisher furnishes our meetings with occasional platters of low-budget sandwiches and potato chips. So, why do we do it?
