At last Maryland has a debate on judicial accountability.
Some state judges are grumbling at what appears to them unseemly haste, but plenty of citizens are delighted to watch the courts and the legislature competing to enact reforms first.
Too many people have spent too many years waiting for signs of life from a toothless Commission on Judicial Disabilities. With virtually no staff or budget, there has been no public response to complaints and, thus, no way to refute critics who claim that the panel is simply not up to the task of imposing discipline on wayward judges. When the commission does investigate complaints, the process can take many months.
To its credit, the Court of Appeals' Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure has begun to address the problems in the disabilities commission. Under Judge Alan M. Wilner, the committee has proposed several administrative changes, including a provision for hiring additional staff for investigating complaints and requiring that people filing complaints be notified of any actions taken.
Meanwhile, General Assembly leaders are sponsoring a constitutional amendment that would put a majority of lay members on the Commission on Judicial Disabilities. Currently, the panel has four judges, two lawyers and a lay member. The amendment would change that to 11 members with a majority of six from outside the legal system. Since the commission was established by constitutional amendment, proposals from the legislature would require another amendment, approved by voters.
For his part, Gov. Parris N. Glendening has expressed concern about the disabilities commission and has talked about appointing a panel to examine judicial accountability as well as the judicial selection process. That kind of examination of Maryland's judiciary is long overdue.
Judges have a good point when they note that administrative changes would be easier to modify -- if necessary -- at a later date than a constitutional amendment. But having waited in vain all these years for the judiciary to take action on its own, legislators are understandably eager to push the issue.
However change comes, the current debate is a healthy one. The disabilities commission was established in 1966, when the judiciary and Maryland itself were simpler and smaller. It's time for a fresh look at how the judicial system can better administer justice and serve citizens as a new century approaches.