Forster v. Hargadon (Ct. of Appeals)

Filed April 11, 2007 --Opinion by Judge Alan Wilner

Nancy S. Forster, the Public Defender of Maryland, petitioned for a writ of prohibition, writ of mandamus, or other appropriate relief, vacating a directive and order issued by Judge Edward Hargadon, of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Forster argued the directive and order were substantively unlawful and constituted an impermissible local rule. The order imposed certain procedural requirements on parties filing exceptions to the report of a master in juvenile cases and permits the court to dismiss the exceptions if those requirements are not met. The directive directed the court clerk to enter the order in each exceptions case, so that the order and its requirements would be case-specific.

A motion to stay the directive and order pending the Court's decision on the petition had been granted earlier. After considering the petition, however, the Court dismissed it and revoked the stay because the requested relief, if
warranted, was available in two pending cases in Court of Special Appeals.


The Opinion is available in PDF.

E-Citation Update

The proposed E-citation system, noted here, was the subject of a story in today's Baltimore Sun:

Judicial and law enforcement officials are pushing a program that would allow state troopers and other officers to swipe a driver's license and registration, generating a ticket that would be transmitted electronically to the court system. Eventually, violators would have the option of paying tickets via the Internet.

E-citations, as they were called at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, would help cut down on the 1.3 million paper tickets processed annually and help protect police, who can be hit by passing vehicles or assaulted by motorists during traffic stops.

Twenty-five states including California, Florida and New York have electronic citation systems or are implementing pilot programs, Chief District Court Judge Ben C. Clyburn told state senators. In those states, the number of traffic tickets overturned because of human error, such as violations checked incorrectly or writing that is illegible, has dropped.

A driver would still receive a paper copy of a ticket - a receipt of sorts - printed on a system installed in police cruisers.

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Increased efficiency could have drawbacks for drivers hoping to get out of a traffic ticket by exploiting mistakes. A 2003 report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation and two other federal agencies found that an estimated 10 percent of citations contain errors including misspellings, poor handwriting and inconsistencies between violation codes and descriptions.

The report concluded that electronic citation technology can eliminate "most, if not all" such errors.

* * * * *

Faster ticketing means getting back on the road faster, Hartnett said.

"People who are speeding are late for something anyway," he said.

E-Citation Legislation

The Maryland Courts Information Office has issued a press release as follows:

Briefings to Be Held on E-citation Legislation

(Annapolis, MD – January 11, 2007) The Maryland Judiciary is sponsoring legislation to develop an e-citation project. The electronic filing of citations would increase efficiency and police officer safety, while also saving police and court resources.

Media who are interested in learning more about the e-citation project may attend briefings to be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 11, before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, January 18, before the House Judiciary Committee.

The Judiciary is collaborating on this effort with the Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Defense Council, Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, Office of the Public Defender, Maryland State's Attorney's Association, Motor Vehicle Administration, and the Maryland State Bar Association.

The full press release is available here.