Answering state judges' demands that he present them with his plan for reforming Baltimore's courts, Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday sketched out his proposal to save the city justice system.
Literally.
His 10-page plan, sent to Maryland's Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals Robert M. Bell, comes complete with stick figures used to illustrate the new process O'Malley hopes will turn around the beleaguered court system, which has been under siege for the past year.
The plan was accompanied by a letter listing seven top officials -- including Gov. Parris N. Glendening -- who were said to support it. But a Glendening aide and two others contacted yesterday said they had not seen it before it was sent.
The first four pages are drawings of the steps O'Malley believes criminals should go through when they enter the justice system. He wants half of all cases disposed of within 24 hours of arrest at the city jail so that prosecutors, swamped with minor cases, have more time to focus on violent, repeat offenders.
In an interview, O'Malley said he was not trying to be "cute" by presenting what appeared to be mocking drawings to the state's top jurist.
"I was not looking for humor, I was looking for clarity," O'Malley said yesterday. "The last plan they [the judges] said wasn't clear enough, so we are just trying to be as clear as we possibly can be."
The first picture depicts an arrest. (The policeman is identified by a shield penciled into his otherwise blank triangular torso). Then a prosecutor is shown reviewing the charges lodged by police to see if they will stand up in court. (The criminal figure has prison stripes drawn across his chest).
The last picture is a courtroom scene in the city jail where the suspect either pleads guilty after the case is discussed with the prosecutor and the suspect's lawyer, has a bail set or is sent to jail to await a trial. (One door pictured leads to jail; the other displays an exit sign).
But if the stick figures were meant for clarity, the letter that accompanies them can only be seen as another shot fired in the continuing battle between O'Malley and state judges. O'Malley has labeled the judges, in particular Chief Judge of the District Court Martha F. Rasin, as "obstructionist" and the only real impediment to putting his proposal in place.
The letter suggests that Rasin, who called O'Malley's recent testimony in Annapolis about the court system a "tantrum," contact her top clerk in Baltimore if she has questions. O'Malley provides the phone number.
