Supreme Waste
A Constitutional Amendment to Change the Name of Maryland's State Courts is a colossal waste
Having apparently addressed all of Maryland’s other concerns, the Maryland General Assembly moved on to other matters:
Persistent public confusion over the name of Maryland’s highest court, the Maryland Court of Appeals, is prompting lawmakers to pursue putting a constitutional amendment before voters that would rebrand the centuries-old institution as the Supreme Court of Maryland.
The ballot measure would also redub the arguably equally confusing Maryland Court of Special Appeals, which considers appeals from circuit courts around the state, as the Appellate Court of Maryland. And it would give members of the newly renamed state supreme court the title of justice, rather than judge.
So far, lawmakers have overwhelmingly signed off on putting the name changes to Maryland voters in 2022, a legally required step since the names of both institutions are enshrined in the state’s constitution. The state Senate passed a bill 38-7 on Friday, while an identical measure sailed Monday through the House of Delegates on a 125-10 vote.
At least one of those bills still needs to pass the opposite chamber. The lopsided vote margins — and the fact that both versions are identical — make that all but certain.
What exactly is the point of all of this? We’re going to pass a Constitutional Amendment and put it before the voters to change the name of the Courts? What exactly is the purpose of all of this?
The article cites the “Persistent public confusion over the name of Maryland’s highest court.” But who exactly is confused? Is there data on this? Is there a poll? Or is this just Democrats trying to make sure that what happened to Ben Jealous in 2018 doesn’t happen again when he showed how clueless he was about Maryland government when he told us all he didn’t know the names of the Courts?
The real reason that there is so much concern regarding this is that so many of our politicians and leaders in Maryland either aren’t from around here or lack a basic understanding of Maryland history. This is a drum that Greg Kline has been beating for years.
Sadly, only 10 Delegates and seven Senators stood up to oppose this nonsense.
What is the point of all of this? There is no point. It’s a cosmetic change to appease those who are too lazy to learn Maryland’s history or too woke to appreciate it. At a time where our economy is suffering, schools are failing, and crime is still rampant, why is anybody focusing on cosmetic poppycock like this?
We’ll of course talk more about this once it gets closer to the election this year. But once again, Senators and Delegates are taking their eye off the ball by passing useless legislation that highlights their ignorance instead of focusing on the real issues facing Marylanders.