Maryland Criminal Procedure Amendment (2016)
| Maryland Criminal Procedure Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Maryland Criminal Procedure Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Maryland as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
The measure would have amended the constitution to state that the constitution "may not be construed to require government–funded legal representation of an indigent defendant at an initial appearance before a District Court commissioner."[1]
Text of measure
The full text of the measure was as follows:[1]
| “ | SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, (Three–fifths of all the members elected to each of the two Houses concurring), That it be proposed that the Maryland Constitution read as follows:
(A) That no man ought to be taken or imprisoned or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or, in any manner, destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the Law of the land. (B) THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT BE CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE GOVERNMENT–FUNDED LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF AN INDIGENT DEFENDANT AT AN INITIAL APPEARANCE BEFORE A DISTRICT COURT COMMISSIONER. SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the General Assembly determines that the amendment to the Maryland Constitution proposed by this Act affects multiple jurisdictions and that the provisions of Article XIV, § 1 of the Maryland Constitution concerning local approval of constitutional amendments do not apply. SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the aforegoing section proposed as an amendment to the Maryland Constitution shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the next general election to be held in November 2016 for their adoption or rejection pursuant to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution. At that general election, the vote on this proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be by ballot, and upon each ballot there shall be printed the words “For the Constitutional Amendment” and “Against the Constitutional Amendment,” as now provided by law. Immediately after the election, all returns shall be made to the Governor of the vote for and against the proposed amendment, as directed by Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution, and further proceedings had in accordance with Article XIV.[2] |
” |
Support
The amendment was sponsored by Senators Michael Hough, C. Anthony Muse, James Brochin, H. Wayne Norman Jr., Bob Cassilly, Robert Zirkin and Justin Ready.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Maryland Constitution
A 60 percent majority vote in both chambers of the Maryland State Legislature was required to refer the amendment to the ballot.
The Maryland Legislature's 2015 session ended on April 13, 2015, without the bill passing both chambers. Legislators had the opportunity to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session, which was projected to begin on January 13, 2016, and run through April 11, 2016.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland Legislature, "SENATE BILL 942," accessed December 1, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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