FOLKS, PUBLIC JUSTICE IS GUARANTEED UNDER THE US CONSTITUTION AND AMERICA HAS ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN LAW PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS CITIZENS. RULE OF LAW AND EQUAL PROTECTION ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR DEMOCRACY AND NEO-LIBERALS AND NEO-CONS ARE DISMANTLING THIS BECAUSE THEY NOW SEE THE US AS CONTROLLED BY GLOBAL CORPORATE TRIBUNALS AND NOT FEDERAL LAW.
IF WE DO NOT TAKE A STAND NOW BY VOTING FOR A GOVERNOR AND MAYOR/COUNTY EXECUTIVE WHO WILL SHOUT OUT FOR OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS WE WILL BECOME A TOTALITARIAN NATION. AS NOAM CHOMSKY SAYS----A NATION RUN BY CORPORATIONS CAN ONLY BECOME TOTALITARIAN.
Anthony Brown, Doug Gansler, and Heather Mizeur all expect to continue this dismantling of public justice. Do you hear Heather, the supposedly progressive candidate shouting about Maryland's dismantling of public justice? Stop electing the same people killing democracy and Rule of Law.
I spoke yesterday about the systematic dismantling of our legal system including the decline of law school grads and hiring of lawyers in the US. Today I want to look at how the public justice system is being made the step-child of corporate law firms designated as providing the public 'PRO BONO' JUSTICE.
Regarding rebuilding Rule of Law in Maryland:
As WYPR's Basu tries to convince people that the US did rise out of recession and that all the economic data was not just the FED's crony policies moving massive corporate fraud out of the country through merger and acquisition overseas and part two of the massive subprime mortgage fraud called the bundled foreclosures fraud that drove the housing market boom......NO ONE BELIEVES IT! A recovery based on the wealthy of the world sending the money looted from their nations Treasuries over to the US in real estate purchases is not a recovery and is why these several years showed only growth in wealth at the top. It is also why most academic and financial analysts call all of this activity crony and criminal and the Wall Street/FED connection now a cartel. It is acting separately from the American economy and acting under no Rule of Law. All of this is reflected down the government chain at state and local levels. Ergo, wealth inequity. Corporate NPR/APM feels our pain as it states 1 in 7 Americans are on Food Stamps all just waiting for Rule of Law to bring back tens of trillions of corporate fraud with government watchdogs stating each citizen in America will receive a few hundreds of thousands of dollars from fraud recovery.
SIMPLY REINSTATING RULE OF LAW AND RECOVERING CORPORATE FRAUD TAKES MUCH OF THE NEED FOR FOOD STAMPS AND IMPOVERISHMENT GOES AWAY. EASY PEASY!!!
I spoke last time about rebuilding public justice in Maryland by using committee appointments and using the governor's bully pulpit to get state agencies to DO THE JOB OF SERVING IN THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST. Outsourcing for lawyers and creating grants for law schools to expedite law grads steeped in white collar crime and public justice will have new public justice employees in just a few years. It is easy for the governor to do with no help from the corporate Maryland Assembly.
Let's look at the other structures of public justice that have been deliberately 'broken' so as to eliminate the people's ability to access justice. Now, remember, public justice is not only the poor, working and middle-class people can no longer afford legal representation for most crimes so this issue is about all citizens of Maryland seeking justice for corporate crime and government corruption.
Below you see an article from Ireland that speaks to the same thing happening in the US. We know law school tuition is rising to create exclusivity and we know law firms are raising their fees to a point that the average person cannot afford to litigate. THIS IS DELIBERATE. This places most Americans into the hands of public justice and when the State and City Attorney have no white collar criminal agencies or government corruption agencies-----you go to legal aid or public non-profit legal teams like the National Lawyer's Guild or Maryland ACLU. If you live in Maryland you know that the Maryland ACLU is silent on most civil liberties and civil rights violations and the system of funding legal aid and public justice --------pro bono volunteering of private law firms to help the public----is crony and not intended to provide EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW.
THE MONEY SENT BY THE STATE TO FUND PUBLIC JUSTICE IS A JOKE. HAVING CORPORATE LAWYERS DECIDE WHICH CASES THEY ACCEPT AS PRO-BONO AS PUBLIC JUSTICE?????? REALLY????
This is the problem and it is a joke. So, first we rebuild the State and City Attorney's Office white collar crime and criminal justice offices so that pro-bono work by private law firms will rarely be needed.
Law fees rise despite lawyers’ protests
Tynwald buildings
Tynwald buildings
Published on the 27 June
2013
11:45
Legislation to increase various fees for litigants in the island has been approved by Tynwald despite a formal letter of objection from many of the island’s advocates.
The change will see big price hikes in the cost of, for example, taking out a small claim.
Speaking in Tynwald, Douglas East MHK Brenda Cannell said the points raised in the advocates’ letter were valid and the motion was being proposed without a full appreciation of the likely impact.
Onchan MHK Zac Hall said the advocates’ letter had been sent with the blessing of the Law Society. It was endorsed by 12 firms and ran into eight pages.
‘This will create a society where unscrupulous people will believe they can get away with it and the most vulnerable sections of society will be affected by this,’ he said.
Alex Downie MLC said three quarters of small claims were under £1,000 and the fee increase for these was £10 to £20. But Mr Hall said for small claims in the higher band the cost would rise from around £649 to £7,500.
‘That’s an outrageous increase,’ he said.
An amendment proposed by Onchan MHK Peter Karran to refer the matter back to the Social Affairs Committee was defeated 14 to 10 in Keys and seven to one in Legislative Council.
Treasury Minister Eddie Teare said the points in the advocates’ letter had been raised ‘at the 11th hour’ and added: ‘Access to justice is determined not just by court fees but also by fees charged by legal advisors and I feel they need to have a look in the mirror. I have done what I said I would do in May and I’m sticking to my guns. This fees order is still very reasonable and competitive compared with other jurisdictions.’
The increases were approved by 15 votes to nine in Keys and by seven votes to one in Legislative Council.
Law Society president Kevin O’Riordan told the Independent he felt access to justice for many was being jeopardised by cuts in legal aid and increases in court fees.
‘It’s not something lawyers are championing, except on behalf of their clients,’ he said.
‘Sadly, there has been an unfortunate lack of consultation with the legal profession on this issue as well as others of relevance to us. I understand the need to control spending, but not the apparent reluctance of the government to recognise that lawyers may have a useful contribution to make to the debate.
‘It is the client who has to pay court fees, which go to the Treasury rather than to the lawyers, so that we are not directly affected. Those who feel the impact of these increases will be the growing number of people who do not qualify for legal aid but are still of relatively modest means.
‘I also have to register disappointment at the Minister beating that tired old drum about excessive lawyers’ fees. He seems to be unaware of how much legal work is done by many advocates pro bono or at significantly discounted rates.’
____________________________________________
Now, I do not want to insinuate that these pro-bono groups do not have the intent to serve the people. Why would we have such a huge private non-profit system of public justice unless we had no public justice in our State and City Attorney General's office? This is the problem. When you have individuals deciding which cases to take as pro-bono instead of an Attorney General's office pursuing all laws broken as is the duties of this office......you have lost Rule of Law and public justice. So, in Maryland you will see no pro-bono work involving government corruption, white collar fraud, or corporate and wealth tax evasions----the major problems for the public. Have a landlord problem? You may get help.
The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, Inc..,
(PBRC) is the statewide coordinator of volunteer legal services. Our mission is to promote equal access to justice in Maryland by coordinating and supporting volunteer civil legal services, providing resources and support for legal advocates for the poor, and promoting cooperation within the legal community.
About Us
PBRC is a separate non-profit organization which serves as the designated “pro bono arm” of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). PBRC works closely with legal services providers and local bar association pro bono projects throughout the state to help recruit, train, recognize and support pro bono lawyers. PBRC also provides support services (click HERE) to volunteers and programs in the way of free or discounted training, a Pro Bono and Judicare Litigation Fund, mentors and technical assistance.
We have compiled a list of pro bono programs offering a wide range of opportunities for attorneys interested in providing free civil legal services to the disadvantaged. In addition to direct client representation, several programs operate advice clinics and mentoring and training opportunities for volunteer lawyers. Most programs provide malpractice insurance.
___________________________________________
So, Maryland has a network of lawyers working for private businesses doing the public's legal work because the Federal, State, and local justice offices are no longer doing that. Below you see the duties of all levels of public justice.
SEE WHERE EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW HAS GONE?
What Are the Duties of the United States Attorney General?
By Angela M. Wheeland
Protecting the Public
The primary duty of the United States attorney general is to serve the best interests of the public within the United States jurisdiction. He is responsible for enforcing civil rights, preventing unfair consumer practices and improving the lives of United States citizens by proposing environmental protection laws and changes in criminal procedures.
*********************************
Now, Maryland's lawyers where ground zero for much of the subprime mortgage fraud and are indeed quite wealthy because none of the massive fraud has been recovered. So, when lawyers 'donate' time for public justice, especially for subprime mortgage fraud and the foreclosures caused by these crimes.....there is a conflict here don't you think? If I wanted to take to court the fact that these cases are not being pursued do I really contact these lawyers? Of course not, that is the job of Maryland and Baltimore City Attorney. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE STATE TO PROVIDE EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW!
Do you think these law firms get tax write-offs for 'donating' this time? YOU BETCHA!!!!!
The problem with foreclosure law is that the Maryland Attorney General signed off on settlements that were parking tickets and then sent the money to the state coffers where the money is now sent back to the banks for Enterprise Zone corporate development all creating profits for the banks committing the frauds. Are these lawyers being trained to address this? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
THIS IS THE JOB OF THE US ATTORNEY, STATE ATTORNEY, AND BALTIMORE CITY ATTORNEY----ERGO----PUBLIC JUSTICE.
The parking ticket settlements made these few years came with the requirement to rebuild white collar criminal justice agencies with these funds and Doug Gansler famously said 'I'll hire a lawyer to oversee the foreclosure process'.
"Pro bono lawyers may be the only hope for many vulnerable or disadvantaged people throughout our state, many of whom have never before faced such dire circumstances."
IF NOT FOR THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS AMERICANS WOULD HAVE NO PUBLIC JUSTICE-----ONLY ALL THIS IS ILLEGAL AS THE US CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES EQUAL PROTECTION AND RULE OF LAW. THE PUBLIC JUSTICE SYSTEM CANNOT BE DISMANTLED.
Maryland Bar Bulletin
Publications : Bar Bulletin : March 2010
|
Maryland Attorneys Donate 1.9 Million Pro Bono Hours to Help the State's Poor
~ Give close to $3 million in financial support ~
By Janet Stidman Eveleth
Despite the recession and our harsh economic times, Maryland lawyers donated close to 2 million volunteer hours in pro bono service in 2008, helping the state's poor with their legal needs. In addition, they contributed close to $3 million in financial support to increase legal services funding for the indigent. Traditionally, Maryland volunteer lawyers strongly support legal services to the poor and, when times are tough and people need help, lawyers step up to the plate and volunteer, giving their time, expertise and money to assist the needy.
One shining example of this is the state's Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project where, in the six months this program was operational in 2008, 918 lawyers volunteered to first, undergo foreclosure training then help hundreds of Maryland homeowners in danger of losing homes to foreclosure. In 2008, these volunteers gave 13,737 hours in pro bono service to the Foreclosure Project and many accepted multiple homeowner cases.
According to the recently released 2008 Current Status of Pro Bono Service Among Maryland Lawyers Report (Report), Maryland-certified lawyers rendered 1,109,686 pro bono hours in 2008, an increase of 40,020 hours from 2007's 1,069,666 hours. It also reports that 59.7 percent of Maryland's full-time lawyers volunteered for pro bono activity in 2008. Over 22 percent gave 50 hours or more of pro bono service.
As always, lawyers hailing from rural regions like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland rendered the most pro bono hours in the state while those in metropolitan areas tended to give the fewest. The Eastern Shore led the way with 80 percent of its attorneys giving pro bono service, followed by Western Maryland with 78 percent. The highest percentage of lawyers rendering 50+ hours also hailed from these two regions.
Somerset County captured the lead with 50 percent of its lawyers giving 50 hours or more of pro bono service, followed by Dorchester County with 45 hours and Queen Anne's and Talbot running neck and neck with respectively, 43.5 and 43.2. "We are encouraged by the participation in these counties,"states Sharon E. Goldsmith, Executive Director of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, "becauseaccess to legal services is especially challenging in them."
Holding with tradition, the 2008 Report indicates that practitioners in Family/Domestic Law, Trusts/Estates/Wills, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, and Elder Law give the most pro bono service and solo and small practitioners donate the most hours. 77.7 percent of Maryland's solo practitioners, and 71.4 percent of its small firm practitioners engaged in pro bono service in 2008, and about 17 percent of these practitioners volunteered for the Foreclosure Project.
Goldsmith, who oversees the Foreclosure Project, is delighted with its success. "The initial response of Maryland lawyers to the foreclosure crisis was unprecedented,"she exclaims. "These numbers indicate more than one third of the increase in pro bono hours in 2008 can be attributed to the Foreclosure Project."
"The Foreclosure Project continues to train and utilize volunteers in efforts to modify loans and identify creative solutions for sustainable homeownership,"she continues, "so we expect an even higher number of hours dedicated to the Project in the 2009 reporting cycle."
The Court of Appeals of Maryland has tracked attorney volunteerism across the state since 2002, reporting its findings each year in the Current Status of Pro Bono Service Among Maryland Lawyers Report. It is now in the process of compiling the 2009 results. All Maryland attorneys are required to file annual pro bono reports to the Court of Appeals. The 2009 forms were due February 15, 2010.
Attorney pro bono service is still voluntary in the state, but revisions to Rule 6.1 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, which took effect July 1, 2002, require all Maryland attorneys to file an annual Pro Bono Service Report with the Court. The form documents the number of hours of pro bono service the attorney rendered during the previous year. This pro bono summary gives the Court of Appeals a "snapshot"of the legal services landscape in the state.
Right now that landscape is very bumpy, given the bad economy, severe legal services funding shortages, the high unemployment rate and the soaring number of foreclosures. "In our current economic climate, legal services providers are being inundated with requests for help and have fewer resources with which to respond,"reports Goldsmith. "Pro bono lawyers may be the only hope for many vulnerable or disadvantaged people throughout our state, many of whom have never before faced such dire circumstances."
______________________________________
Those poor people losing their retirements, houses, savings, and forced into debt all because of massive corporate fraud and no justice to recover it-----THAT IS WHAT TRANS PACIFIC TRADE PACT (TPP) IS ALL ABOUT---- there is no public justice with global corporate tribunals say Ivy League schools behind the 1%!
If you audited the money Maryland sends for this pro-bono work and for legal aid you will see that nothing is done with money that either ends up in other projects or are simply pocketed by people offering little or no help. I went to legal aid in Baltimore and found them handing my instruction forms telling me what I could do for myself because they do not go to court with you. Now, I am a pretty sharp cookie and often go to court as my own legal representative but I know the courts are not friendly to people seeking to represent themselves. So, having an agency that simply informs people how the system works do nothing for these people. ANOTHER DEAD END! WHAT PUBLIC JUSTICE YOU SAY!!!
The reason formerly middle-class people are clients of these private firms is that public justice that should have protected them is silent. DOUG GANSLER IS THAT FACE AND HE NOW HAS A WAR CHEST FOR GOVERNOR FROM THE VERY PEOPLE FLEECING MARYLAND CITIZENS. He should be up for aiding and abetting crime and he is running for governor! The lawyers colluding with the banks and corporations committing these frauds are now deciding which pro-bono cases to take.
THIS IS WHAT THIRD WORLD SOCIETY LOOKS LIKE-----AFGHANISTAN HAS NOTHING ON MARYLAND FOR FRAUD AND CORRUPTION.
Clients are up, funding is down for free legal aid
October 24, 2011 at 7:23 am
By Barbara Pash
Barbara@MarylandReporter.com
As the economy has slowed, the demand for free civil legal services has risen, but funding for those services has not increased.
Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland logo“The situation is dire,” said Sharon Goldsmith, executive director of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland. “The programs are feeling stretched beyond their limits. The funding is not there.”
The center — the pro bono arm of the Maryland Bar Association serving as a clearinghouse for lawyers’ volunteer services — is a statewide nonprofit entity. Nowadays, Goldsmith said, center volunteers are seeing “a lot” of formerly middle-income people who would not have qualified for free legal help before. This is “a whole new group of people” asking for help, she said, in addition to the low-income people already being served.
Demand rising
The center Groups providing free legal assistance served nearly 140,000 clients in fiscal 2011, 9% more than 2010. But during that same period, over 44,000 people seeking legal help were turned away for a variety of reasons like being a criminal, rather than a civil, case; over the income eligibility limit; and not enough staff people and resources.
The Pro Bono Resource Center spearheaded coordination of volunteer legal services for the foreclosure prevention project, a 2008 state-wide initiative to deal with the home mortgage crisis. In 2010, the project was expanded to include mediation but the center continued to play a role in training attorneys and coordinating public workshops around the state.
In fiscal 2010, state and federal grants to the Maryland foreclosure mediation program amounted to $700,000; in fiscal 2011, the figure was $509,000 because of funding drops.
Although the number of foreclosure filings in court subsequently slowed down., since January 2011 they have begun to increase. “I doubt we will see an increase in funding,” said Goldsmith, who credits lawyers with stepping up their pro bono activity to compensate.
3,000 attorneys volunteer
Maryland Volunteer lawyer Services logoAt Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, the demand for legal services rose 6% from fiscal 2010 to 2011, straining the approximately 3,000 attorneys who donate their time there.
Many of the lawyers who work with MVLS are in solo practices or small firms. Their ability to volunteer is being limited by their need to earn billable hours, said Richard Chambers, deputy director. Many are also changing careers, Chambers said. In the last three years, the number of attorneys taking cases has decreased 20%, although other volunteers have picked up the slack, he said.
MVLS has boosted its private fundraising among corporations and law firms, whose support now accounts for 40% of its budget.
“We’d love to expand our phone intake. We’d love to have more outreach to the lower Eastern Shore, to St. Mary’s and Frederick counties. We can’t do it. We are at capacity” for clients, said Chambers. “We know there are probably thousands of people who qualify for our services.”
Too many clients, too few chairs
Maryland legal aid logoAt Maryland Legal Aid, the jump in clients is apparent “in our lobby any morning,” said Wilhelm Joseph, executive director.
“We used to add chairs as the room got full,” Joseph said. “Now, we don’t have enough chairs for all the people looking for help.”
The private nonprofit law firm saw nearly 70,000 clients in 2011, versus 62,000 in 2010 and 42,000 in 2006. Legal Aid also now has a broader client demographic, which now includes “the former working class and the middle-class,” Joseph characterized. “They’ve been out of jobs for several months and are facing issues like getting unemployment and food stamps, and mortgage foreclosure.”
Since 2008, Legal Aid has seen default on debt and wage garnishment cases rise 30%. Unemployment insurance cases are up 153%. Public assistance cases are up 156%, and food stamp cases have increased 72%. In the same time period, the number of cases where Legal Aid just gave advice to clients they could not represent — often because Legal Aid was operating at capacity — has risen 28%.
Legal Aid’s annual budget is almost $25 million, with funds from federal and state grants, contracts with local jurisdictions through state agencies, and private sources. While funding has risen steadily over the years, the situation overall “is getting worse,” said Joseph.
“There is increased demand, funding is getting much more difficult, and operating costs go up,” he said.
Maryland Legal Services Corporation logoSusan Erlichman is executive director of Maryland Legal Services Corporation, whose annual budget of about $16 million is distributed to 35 programs around the state.
The corporation’s major funding sources are, by statue, interest on lawyer trust accounts and court filing fee surcharges. It also receives a small amount from the state abandoned property fund.
Though the corporation’s major funding sources are set by statute, its funds have decreased with the economy. From 2009 to 2011, trust account interest revenue fell from $7 million to $2 million — about 70%, Erlichman said.
In 2010, the General Assembly increased the court fee surcharge at MLSC’s request. The new income filled the interest funding hole.
“Without the increased surcharge, the whole legal services delivery system in the state would be in danger of collapse,” said Erlichman.
Nonetheless, the increased surcharge is scheduled to sunset in 2013, and she and others in the legal services community are doing what they can to ensure it continues. “It would leave us in a devastating situation,” said Erlichman.
__________________________________________________
Now, I have spoken about Barbara Mikulski and her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee in funding or not the budgets of justice agencies and as I have said the budget at the Federal level has never been smaller at a time of extreme corporate fraud against the US Treasury and American people. She manages to get plenty of corporate welfare to the rich in Maryland but cannot get that funding for public justice even when democrats had a super-majority in 2009.
Below you see the same in Maryland. As billions of dollars in Maryland are lost to fraud we just cannot seem to fund the agencies of public justice to recover that fraud.
SHEILA PUGH IS THE FACE OF THIS CRONYISM AND YET SHE IS NEVER CHALLENGED IN BALTIMORE. SEE WHY MIKE MILLER LET'S HER PLAY THESE REINDEER GAMES!!!!
This is where all law that protects corporations from public justice happen as well.
Appointed by Senate President:
Thomas M. Middleton, Chair (410) 841-3616, (301) 858-3616
John C. Astle, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3578, (301) 858-3578
David R. Brinkley
Brian J. Feldman
Barry Glassman
Delores G. Kelley
Allan H. Kittleman
Katherine A. Klausmeier
James N. Mathias, Jr.
Catherine E. Pugh
Victor R. Ramirez
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES FINANCE COMMITTEE
ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS The Finance Committee started in December 1831. Originally, it bore responsibility for reviewing all bills concerned with fiscal matters. In 1975, the review of budgetary and tax matters was assigned to a separate committee - the Budget and Taxation Committee.
Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, December 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Legislation relating to banks and other financial institutions; commercial law, including consumer protection; credit regulation and consumer financing; economic and community development; and health and welfare matters is considered by the Committee. Bills concerned with horse racing and lotteries; insurance; labor and employment; State personnel issues; social programs; transportation; unemployment insurance; utility regulation; and workers' compensation also are reviewed by the Committee. The Committee has eleven members (Senate Rules 18; Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1103 through 2-1105).
Below you see why McFadden being challenged was a big deal for Mike Miller in keeping public justice out of the loop in Maryland Assembly. He and Jones-Rodwell are on this committee because they are dedicated to keeping public justice away. I'm not sure McFadden's challenger will be much better sadly as he is as crony.
It is the combination of Washington suburbs pols and the Baltimore City pols where most of the fraud and wealth from fraud go that give the state this completely third world crony system.
A governor can shout that these committees are not working in the public interest in funding and writing laws. A government that protects wealth and profit are not working in the public interest and defunding public justice violates the US Constitution.
____________________________________________
Below you see Heather Mizeur on the Appropriations Committee where all of the policy that sends money to corporate welfare start. This is why she supports public private partnerships and Wall Street credit bond leverage deals----she works for corporate welfare. She was placed on this committee because she will tow the line. At the same time this is where defunding of public justice occurs and is replaced by this idea of private pro-bono as public justice. Note that Mary Washington------Johns Hopkins pol where all of state funding ends-----is on the Appropriations Committee too!
Now, the citizens of Maryland will have a hard time shaking all of the neo-liberal bugs from the rug at once, but the governor is the one that should be shouting that these committees and agencies are not working in the public interest and in fact much of these funding bills could be challenged in courts as not in the public interest. This is how a first world democracy works.
When I asked Mary Washington to define fraud in the Maryland Assembly after the economic crash in 2008 caused by massive corporate fraud of which her employer, Johns Hopkins was a major recipient----she said-----OH, I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD WANT THAT! OH, REALLY????? WHO ARE 'THEY' MARY?
THESE NEO-LIBERALS ARE NOT WARM AND FUZZY-----RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE IN ALL PRIMARIES!
Appointed by House Speaker:
Norman H. Conway, Chair (410) 841-3407, (301) 858-3407
James E. Proctor, Jr., Vice-Chair (410) 841-3083, (301) 858-3083 Steven J. Arentz
Gail H. Bates
Wendell R. Beitzel
John L. Bohanan, Jr.
Steven J. DeBoy, Sr.
Adelaide C. Eckardt
Tawanna P. Gaines
Melony G. Griffith
Ana Sol Gutierrez
Guy J. Guzzone
Keith E. Haynes
Mary-Dulany James
Adrienne A. Jones
Tony McConkey
Heather R. Mizeur
Barbara A. Robinson
Theodore J. Sophocleus
Nancy R. Stocksdale
Kathy Szeliga
Mary L. Washington
John F. Wood, Jr.
Craig J. Zucker
__________________________________________________
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES BUDGET & TAXATION COMMITTEE
Origin & Functions
Subcommittees
Miller Senate Office Building entrance, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, January 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Appointed by Senate President:
Edward J. Kasemeyer, Chair (410) 841-3653, (301) 858-3653
Nathaniel J. McFadden, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3165, (301) 858-3165
Richard F. Colburn
Ulysses Currie
James E. DeGrange, Sr.
George C. Edwards
Joseph M. Getty
Verna L. Jones-Rodwell
Nancy J. King
Richard S. Madaleno, Jr.
Roger Manno
Douglas J. J. Peters
James N. Robey
IF WE DO NOT TAKE A STAND NOW BY VOTING FOR A GOVERNOR AND MAYOR/COUNTY EXECUTIVE WHO WILL SHOUT OUT FOR OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS WE WILL BECOME A TOTALITARIAN NATION. AS NOAM CHOMSKY SAYS----A NATION RUN BY CORPORATIONS CAN ONLY BECOME TOTALITARIAN.
Anthony Brown, Doug Gansler, and Heather Mizeur all expect to continue this dismantling of public justice. Do you hear Heather, the supposedly progressive candidate shouting about Maryland's dismantling of public justice? Stop electing the same people killing democracy and Rule of Law.
I spoke yesterday about the systematic dismantling of our legal system including the decline of law school grads and hiring of lawyers in the US. Today I want to look at how the public justice system is being made the step-child of corporate law firms designated as providing the public 'PRO BONO' JUSTICE.
Regarding rebuilding Rule of Law in Maryland:
As WYPR's Basu tries to convince people that the US did rise out of recession and that all the economic data was not just the FED's crony policies moving massive corporate fraud out of the country through merger and acquisition overseas and part two of the massive subprime mortgage fraud called the bundled foreclosures fraud that drove the housing market boom......NO ONE BELIEVES IT! A recovery based on the wealthy of the world sending the money looted from their nations Treasuries over to the US in real estate purchases is not a recovery and is why these several years showed only growth in wealth at the top. It is also why most academic and financial analysts call all of this activity crony and criminal and the Wall Street/FED connection now a cartel. It is acting separately from the American economy and acting under no Rule of Law. All of this is reflected down the government chain at state and local levels. Ergo, wealth inequity. Corporate NPR/APM feels our pain as it states 1 in 7 Americans are on Food Stamps all just waiting for Rule of Law to bring back tens of trillions of corporate fraud with government watchdogs stating each citizen in America will receive a few hundreds of thousands of dollars from fraud recovery.
SIMPLY REINSTATING RULE OF LAW AND RECOVERING CORPORATE FRAUD TAKES MUCH OF THE NEED FOR FOOD STAMPS AND IMPOVERISHMENT GOES AWAY. EASY PEASY!!!
I spoke last time about rebuilding public justice in Maryland by using committee appointments and using the governor's bully pulpit to get state agencies to DO THE JOB OF SERVING IN THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST. Outsourcing for lawyers and creating grants for law schools to expedite law grads steeped in white collar crime and public justice will have new public justice employees in just a few years. It is easy for the governor to do with no help from the corporate Maryland Assembly.
Let's look at the other structures of public justice that have been deliberately 'broken' so as to eliminate the people's ability to access justice. Now, remember, public justice is not only the poor, working and middle-class people can no longer afford legal representation for most crimes so this issue is about all citizens of Maryland seeking justice for corporate crime and government corruption.
Below you see an article from Ireland that speaks to the same thing happening in the US. We know law school tuition is rising to create exclusivity and we know law firms are raising their fees to a point that the average person cannot afford to litigate. THIS IS DELIBERATE. This places most Americans into the hands of public justice and when the State and City Attorney have no white collar criminal agencies or government corruption agencies-----you go to legal aid or public non-profit legal teams like the National Lawyer's Guild or Maryland ACLU. If you live in Maryland you know that the Maryland ACLU is silent on most civil liberties and civil rights violations and the system of funding legal aid and public justice --------pro bono volunteering of private law firms to help the public----is crony and not intended to provide EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW.
THE MONEY SENT BY THE STATE TO FUND PUBLIC JUSTICE IS A JOKE. HAVING CORPORATE LAWYERS DECIDE WHICH CASES THEY ACCEPT AS PRO-BONO AS PUBLIC JUSTICE?????? REALLY????
This is the problem and it is a joke. So, first we rebuild the State and City Attorney's Office white collar crime and criminal justice offices so that pro-bono work by private law firms will rarely be needed.
Law fees rise despite lawyers’ protests
Tynwald buildings
Tynwald buildings
Published on the 27 June
2013
11:45
Legislation to increase various fees for litigants in the island has been approved by Tynwald despite a formal letter of objection from many of the island’s advocates.
The change will see big price hikes in the cost of, for example, taking out a small claim.
Speaking in Tynwald, Douglas East MHK Brenda Cannell said the points raised in the advocates’ letter were valid and the motion was being proposed without a full appreciation of the likely impact.
Onchan MHK Zac Hall said the advocates’ letter had been sent with the blessing of the Law Society. It was endorsed by 12 firms and ran into eight pages.
‘This will create a society where unscrupulous people will believe they can get away with it and the most vulnerable sections of society will be affected by this,’ he said.
Alex Downie MLC said three quarters of small claims were under £1,000 and the fee increase for these was £10 to £20. But Mr Hall said for small claims in the higher band the cost would rise from around £649 to £7,500.
‘That’s an outrageous increase,’ he said.
An amendment proposed by Onchan MHK Peter Karran to refer the matter back to the Social Affairs Committee was defeated 14 to 10 in Keys and seven to one in Legislative Council.
Treasury Minister Eddie Teare said the points in the advocates’ letter had been raised ‘at the 11th hour’ and added: ‘Access to justice is determined not just by court fees but also by fees charged by legal advisors and I feel they need to have a look in the mirror. I have done what I said I would do in May and I’m sticking to my guns. This fees order is still very reasonable and competitive compared with other jurisdictions.’
The increases were approved by 15 votes to nine in Keys and by seven votes to one in Legislative Council.
Law Society president Kevin O’Riordan told the Independent he felt access to justice for many was being jeopardised by cuts in legal aid and increases in court fees.
‘It’s not something lawyers are championing, except on behalf of their clients,’ he said.
‘Sadly, there has been an unfortunate lack of consultation with the legal profession on this issue as well as others of relevance to us. I understand the need to control spending, but not the apparent reluctance of the government to recognise that lawyers may have a useful contribution to make to the debate.
‘It is the client who has to pay court fees, which go to the Treasury rather than to the lawyers, so that we are not directly affected. Those who feel the impact of these increases will be the growing number of people who do not qualify for legal aid but are still of relatively modest means.
‘I also have to register disappointment at the Minister beating that tired old drum about excessive lawyers’ fees. He seems to be unaware of how much legal work is done by many advocates pro bono or at significantly discounted rates.’
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Now, I do not want to insinuate that these pro-bono groups do not have the intent to serve the people. Why would we have such a huge private non-profit system of public justice unless we had no public justice in our State and City Attorney General's office? This is the problem. When you have individuals deciding which cases to take as pro-bono instead of an Attorney General's office pursuing all laws broken as is the duties of this office......you have lost Rule of Law and public justice. So, in Maryland you will see no pro-bono work involving government corruption, white collar fraud, or corporate and wealth tax evasions----the major problems for the public. Have a landlord problem? You may get help.
The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, Inc..,
(PBRC) is the statewide coordinator of volunteer legal services. Our mission is to promote equal access to justice in Maryland by coordinating and supporting volunteer civil legal services, providing resources and support for legal advocates for the poor, and promoting cooperation within the legal community.
About Us
PBRC is a separate non-profit organization which serves as the designated “pro bono arm” of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). PBRC works closely with legal services providers and local bar association pro bono projects throughout the state to help recruit, train, recognize and support pro bono lawyers. PBRC also provides support services (click HERE) to volunteers and programs in the way of free or discounted training, a Pro Bono and Judicare Litigation Fund, mentors and technical assistance.
We have compiled a list of pro bono programs offering a wide range of opportunities for attorneys interested in providing free civil legal services to the disadvantaged. In addition to direct client representation, several programs operate advice clinics and mentoring and training opportunities for volunteer lawyers. Most programs provide malpractice insurance.
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So, Maryland has a network of lawyers working for private businesses doing the public's legal work because the Federal, State, and local justice offices are no longer doing that. Below you see the duties of all levels of public justice.
SEE WHERE EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW HAS GONE?
What Are the Duties of the United States Attorney General?
By Angela M. Wheeland
Protecting the Public
The primary duty of the United States attorney general is to serve the best interests of the public within the United States jurisdiction. He is responsible for enforcing civil rights, preventing unfair consumer practices and improving the lives of United States citizens by proposing environmental protection laws and changes in criminal procedures.
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Now, Maryland's lawyers where ground zero for much of the subprime mortgage fraud and are indeed quite wealthy because none of the massive fraud has been recovered. So, when lawyers 'donate' time for public justice, especially for subprime mortgage fraud and the foreclosures caused by these crimes.....there is a conflict here don't you think? If I wanted to take to court the fact that these cases are not being pursued do I really contact these lawyers? Of course not, that is the job of Maryland and Baltimore City Attorney. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE STATE TO PROVIDE EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW!
Do you think these law firms get tax write-offs for 'donating' this time? YOU BETCHA!!!!!
The problem with foreclosure law is that the Maryland Attorney General signed off on settlements that were parking tickets and then sent the money to the state coffers where the money is now sent back to the banks for Enterprise Zone corporate development all creating profits for the banks committing the frauds. Are these lawyers being trained to address this? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
THIS IS THE JOB OF THE US ATTORNEY, STATE ATTORNEY, AND BALTIMORE CITY ATTORNEY----ERGO----PUBLIC JUSTICE.
The parking ticket settlements made these few years came with the requirement to rebuild white collar criminal justice agencies with these funds and Doug Gansler famously said 'I'll hire a lawyer to oversee the foreclosure process'.
"Pro bono lawyers may be the only hope for many vulnerable or disadvantaged people throughout our state, many of whom have never before faced such dire circumstances."
IF NOT FOR THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS AMERICANS WOULD HAVE NO PUBLIC JUSTICE-----ONLY ALL THIS IS ILLEGAL AS THE US CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES EQUAL PROTECTION AND RULE OF LAW. THE PUBLIC JUSTICE SYSTEM CANNOT BE DISMANTLED.
Maryland Bar Bulletin
Publications : Bar Bulletin : March 2010
|
Maryland Attorneys Donate 1.9 Million Pro Bono Hours to Help the State's Poor
~ Give close to $3 million in financial support ~
By Janet Stidman Eveleth
Despite the recession and our harsh economic times, Maryland lawyers donated close to 2 million volunteer hours in pro bono service in 2008, helping the state's poor with their legal needs. In addition, they contributed close to $3 million in financial support to increase legal services funding for the indigent. Traditionally, Maryland volunteer lawyers strongly support legal services to the poor and, when times are tough and people need help, lawyers step up to the plate and volunteer, giving their time, expertise and money to assist the needy.
One shining example of this is the state's Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project where, in the six months this program was operational in 2008, 918 lawyers volunteered to first, undergo foreclosure training then help hundreds of Maryland homeowners in danger of losing homes to foreclosure. In 2008, these volunteers gave 13,737 hours in pro bono service to the Foreclosure Project and many accepted multiple homeowner cases.
According to the recently released 2008 Current Status of Pro Bono Service Among Maryland Lawyers Report (Report), Maryland-certified lawyers rendered 1,109,686 pro bono hours in 2008, an increase of 40,020 hours from 2007's 1,069,666 hours. It also reports that 59.7 percent of Maryland's full-time lawyers volunteered for pro bono activity in 2008. Over 22 percent gave 50 hours or more of pro bono service.
As always, lawyers hailing from rural regions like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland rendered the most pro bono hours in the state while those in metropolitan areas tended to give the fewest. The Eastern Shore led the way with 80 percent of its attorneys giving pro bono service, followed by Western Maryland with 78 percent. The highest percentage of lawyers rendering 50+ hours also hailed from these two regions.
Somerset County captured the lead with 50 percent of its lawyers giving 50 hours or more of pro bono service, followed by Dorchester County with 45 hours and Queen Anne's and Talbot running neck and neck with respectively, 43.5 and 43.2. "We are encouraged by the participation in these counties,"states Sharon E. Goldsmith, Executive Director of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, "becauseaccess to legal services is especially challenging in them."
Holding with tradition, the 2008 Report indicates that practitioners in Family/Domestic Law, Trusts/Estates/Wills, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, and Elder Law give the most pro bono service and solo and small practitioners donate the most hours. 77.7 percent of Maryland's solo practitioners, and 71.4 percent of its small firm practitioners engaged in pro bono service in 2008, and about 17 percent of these practitioners volunteered for the Foreclosure Project.
Goldsmith, who oversees the Foreclosure Project, is delighted with its success. "The initial response of Maryland lawyers to the foreclosure crisis was unprecedented,"she exclaims. "These numbers indicate more than one third of the increase in pro bono hours in 2008 can be attributed to the Foreclosure Project."
"The Foreclosure Project continues to train and utilize volunteers in efforts to modify loans and identify creative solutions for sustainable homeownership,"she continues, "so we expect an even higher number of hours dedicated to the Project in the 2009 reporting cycle."
The Court of Appeals of Maryland has tracked attorney volunteerism across the state since 2002, reporting its findings each year in the Current Status of Pro Bono Service Among Maryland Lawyers Report. It is now in the process of compiling the 2009 results. All Maryland attorneys are required to file annual pro bono reports to the Court of Appeals. The 2009 forms were due February 15, 2010.
Attorney pro bono service is still voluntary in the state, but revisions to Rule 6.1 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, which took effect July 1, 2002, require all Maryland attorneys to file an annual Pro Bono Service Report with the Court. The form documents the number of hours of pro bono service the attorney rendered during the previous year. This pro bono summary gives the Court of Appeals a "snapshot"of the legal services landscape in the state.
Right now that landscape is very bumpy, given the bad economy, severe legal services funding shortages, the high unemployment rate and the soaring number of foreclosures. "In our current economic climate, legal services providers are being inundated with requests for help and have fewer resources with which to respond,"reports Goldsmith. "Pro bono lawyers may be the only hope for many vulnerable or disadvantaged people throughout our state, many of whom have never before faced such dire circumstances."
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Those poor people losing their retirements, houses, savings, and forced into debt all because of massive corporate fraud and no justice to recover it-----THAT IS WHAT TRANS PACIFIC TRADE PACT (TPP) IS ALL ABOUT---- there is no public justice with global corporate tribunals say Ivy League schools behind the 1%!
If you audited the money Maryland sends for this pro-bono work and for legal aid you will see that nothing is done with money that either ends up in other projects or are simply pocketed by people offering little or no help. I went to legal aid in Baltimore and found them handing my instruction forms telling me what I could do for myself because they do not go to court with you. Now, I am a pretty sharp cookie and often go to court as my own legal representative but I know the courts are not friendly to people seeking to represent themselves. So, having an agency that simply informs people how the system works do nothing for these people. ANOTHER DEAD END! WHAT PUBLIC JUSTICE YOU SAY!!!
The reason formerly middle-class people are clients of these private firms is that public justice that should have protected them is silent. DOUG GANSLER IS THAT FACE AND HE NOW HAS A WAR CHEST FOR GOVERNOR FROM THE VERY PEOPLE FLEECING MARYLAND CITIZENS. He should be up for aiding and abetting crime and he is running for governor! The lawyers colluding with the banks and corporations committing these frauds are now deciding which pro-bono cases to take.
THIS IS WHAT THIRD WORLD SOCIETY LOOKS LIKE-----AFGHANISTAN HAS NOTHING ON MARYLAND FOR FRAUD AND CORRUPTION.
Clients are up, funding is down for free legal aid
October 24, 2011 at 7:23 am
By Barbara Pash
Barbara@MarylandReporter.com
As the economy has slowed, the demand for free civil legal services has risen, but funding for those services has not increased.
Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland logo“The situation is dire,” said Sharon Goldsmith, executive director of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland. “The programs are feeling stretched beyond their limits. The funding is not there.”
The center — the pro bono arm of the Maryland Bar Association serving as a clearinghouse for lawyers’ volunteer services — is a statewide nonprofit entity. Nowadays, Goldsmith said, center volunteers are seeing “a lot” of formerly middle-income people who would not have qualified for free legal help before. This is “a whole new group of people” asking for help, she said, in addition to the low-income people already being served.
Demand rising
The center Groups providing free legal assistance served nearly 140,000 clients in fiscal 2011, 9% more than 2010. But during that same period, over 44,000 people seeking legal help were turned away for a variety of reasons like being a criminal, rather than a civil, case; over the income eligibility limit; and not enough staff people and resources.
The Pro Bono Resource Center spearheaded coordination of volunteer legal services for the foreclosure prevention project, a 2008 state-wide initiative to deal with the home mortgage crisis. In 2010, the project was expanded to include mediation but the center continued to play a role in training attorneys and coordinating public workshops around the state.
In fiscal 2010, state and federal grants to the Maryland foreclosure mediation program amounted to $700,000; in fiscal 2011, the figure was $509,000 because of funding drops.
Although the number of foreclosure filings in court subsequently slowed down., since January 2011 they have begun to increase. “I doubt we will see an increase in funding,” said Goldsmith, who credits lawyers with stepping up their pro bono activity to compensate.
3,000 attorneys volunteer
Maryland Volunteer lawyer Services logoAt Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, the demand for legal services rose 6% from fiscal 2010 to 2011, straining the approximately 3,000 attorneys who donate their time there.
Many of the lawyers who work with MVLS are in solo practices or small firms. Their ability to volunteer is being limited by their need to earn billable hours, said Richard Chambers, deputy director. Many are also changing careers, Chambers said. In the last three years, the number of attorneys taking cases has decreased 20%, although other volunteers have picked up the slack, he said.
MVLS has boosted its private fundraising among corporations and law firms, whose support now accounts for 40% of its budget.
“We’d love to expand our phone intake. We’d love to have more outreach to the lower Eastern Shore, to St. Mary’s and Frederick counties. We can’t do it. We are at capacity” for clients, said Chambers. “We know there are probably thousands of people who qualify for our services.”
Too many clients, too few chairs
Maryland legal aid logoAt Maryland Legal Aid, the jump in clients is apparent “in our lobby any morning,” said Wilhelm Joseph, executive director.
“We used to add chairs as the room got full,” Joseph said. “Now, we don’t have enough chairs for all the people looking for help.”
The private nonprofit law firm saw nearly 70,000 clients in 2011, versus 62,000 in 2010 and 42,000 in 2006. Legal Aid also now has a broader client demographic, which now includes “the former working class and the middle-class,” Joseph characterized. “They’ve been out of jobs for several months and are facing issues like getting unemployment and food stamps, and mortgage foreclosure.”
Since 2008, Legal Aid has seen default on debt and wage garnishment cases rise 30%. Unemployment insurance cases are up 153%. Public assistance cases are up 156%, and food stamp cases have increased 72%. In the same time period, the number of cases where Legal Aid just gave advice to clients they could not represent — often because Legal Aid was operating at capacity — has risen 28%.
Legal Aid’s annual budget is almost $25 million, with funds from federal and state grants, contracts with local jurisdictions through state agencies, and private sources. While funding has risen steadily over the years, the situation overall “is getting worse,” said Joseph.
“There is increased demand, funding is getting much more difficult, and operating costs go up,” he said.
Maryland Legal Services Corporation logoSusan Erlichman is executive director of Maryland Legal Services Corporation, whose annual budget of about $16 million is distributed to 35 programs around the state.
The corporation’s major funding sources are, by statue, interest on lawyer trust accounts and court filing fee surcharges. It also receives a small amount from the state abandoned property fund.
Though the corporation’s major funding sources are set by statute, its funds have decreased with the economy. From 2009 to 2011, trust account interest revenue fell from $7 million to $2 million — about 70%, Erlichman said.
In 2010, the General Assembly increased the court fee surcharge at MLSC’s request. The new income filled the interest funding hole.
“Without the increased surcharge, the whole legal services delivery system in the state would be in danger of collapse,” said Erlichman.
Nonetheless, the increased surcharge is scheduled to sunset in 2013, and she and others in the legal services community are doing what they can to ensure it continues. “It would leave us in a devastating situation,” said Erlichman.
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Now, I have spoken about Barbara Mikulski and her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee in funding or not the budgets of justice agencies and as I have said the budget at the Federal level has never been smaller at a time of extreme corporate fraud against the US Treasury and American people. She manages to get plenty of corporate welfare to the rich in Maryland but cannot get that funding for public justice even when democrats had a super-majority in 2009.
Below you see the same in Maryland. As billions of dollars in Maryland are lost to fraud we just cannot seem to fund the agencies of public justice to recover that fraud.
SHEILA PUGH IS THE FACE OF THIS CRONYISM AND YET SHE IS NEVER CHALLENGED IN BALTIMORE. SEE WHY MIKE MILLER LET'S HER PLAY THESE REINDEER GAMES!!!!
This is where all law that protects corporations from public justice happen as well.
Appointed by Senate President:
Thomas M. Middleton, Chair (410) 841-3616, (301) 858-3616
John C. Astle, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3578, (301) 858-3578
David R. Brinkley
Brian J. Feldman
Barry Glassman
Delores G. Kelley
Allan H. Kittleman
Katherine A. Klausmeier
James N. Mathias, Jr.
Catherine E. Pugh
Victor R. Ramirez
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES FINANCE COMMITTEE
ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS The Finance Committee started in December 1831. Originally, it bore responsibility for reviewing all bills concerned with fiscal matters. In 1975, the review of budgetary and tax matters was assigned to a separate committee - the Budget and Taxation Committee.
Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, December 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Legislation relating to banks and other financial institutions; commercial law, including consumer protection; credit regulation and consumer financing; economic and community development; and health and welfare matters is considered by the Committee. Bills concerned with horse racing and lotteries; insurance; labor and employment; State personnel issues; social programs; transportation; unemployment insurance; utility regulation; and workers' compensation also are reviewed by the Committee. The Committee has eleven members (Senate Rules 18; Code State Government Article, secs. 2-1103 through 2-1105).
Below you see why McFadden being challenged was a big deal for Mike Miller in keeping public justice out of the loop in Maryland Assembly. He and Jones-Rodwell are on this committee because they are dedicated to keeping public justice away. I'm not sure McFadden's challenger will be much better sadly as he is as crony.
It is the combination of Washington suburbs pols and the Baltimore City pols where most of the fraud and wealth from fraud go that give the state this completely third world crony system.
A governor can shout that these committees are not working in the public interest in funding and writing laws. A government that protects wealth and profit are not working in the public interest and defunding public justice violates the US Constitution.
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Below you see Heather Mizeur on the Appropriations Committee where all of the policy that sends money to corporate welfare start. This is why she supports public private partnerships and Wall Street credit bond leverage deals----she works for corporate welfare. She was placed on this committee because she will tow the line. At the same time this is where defunding of public justice occurs and is replaced by this idea of private pro-bono as public justice. Note that Mary Washington------Johns Hopkins pol where all of state funding ends-----is on the Appropriations Committee too!
Now, the citizens of Maryland will have a hard time shaking all of the neo-liberal bugs from the rug at once, but the governor is the one that should be shouting that these committees and agencies are not working in the public interest and in fact much of these funding bills could be challenged in courts as not in the public interest. This is how a first world democracy works.
When I asked Mary Washington to define fraud in the Maryland Assembly after the economic crash in 2008 caused by massive corporate fraud of which her employer, Johns Hopkins was a major recipient----she said-----OH, I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD WANT THAT! OH, REALLY????? WHO ARE 'THEY' MARY?
THESE NEO-LIBERALS ARE NOT WARM AND FUZZY-----RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE IN ALL PRIMARIES!
Appointed by House Speaker:
Norman H. Conway, Chair (410) 841-3407, (301) 858-3407
James E. Proctor, Jr., Vice-Chair (410) 841-3083, (301) 858-3083 Steven J. Arentz
Gail H. Bates
Wendell R. Beitzel
John L. Bohanan, Jr.
Steven J. DeBoy, Sr.
Adelaide C. Eckardt
Tawanna P. Gaines
Melony G. Griffith
Ana Sol Gutierrez
Guy J. Guzzone
Keith E. Haynes
Mary-Dulany James
Adrienne A. Jones
Tony McConkey
Heather R. Mizeur
Barbara A. Robinson
Theodore J. Sophocleus
Nancy R. Stocksdale
Kathy Szeliga
Mary L. Washington
John F. Wood, Jr.
Craig J. Zucker
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SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES BUDGET & TAXATION COMMITTEE
Origin & Functions
Subcommittees
Miller Senate Office Building entrance, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland, January 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Appointed by Senate President:
Edward J. Kasemeyer, Chair (410) 841-3653, (301) 858-3653
Nathaniel J. McFadden, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3165, (301) 858-3165
Richard F. Colburn
Ulysses Currie
James E. DeGrange, Sr.
George C. Edwards
Joseph M. Getty
Verna L. Jones-Rodwell
Nancy J. King
Richard S. Madaleno, Jr.
Roger Manno
Douglas J. J. Peters
James N. Robey
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