Appeals Process

ANNAPOLIS -- The chief judge of Maryland's highest court told a Senate committee yesterday that it was unlikely anyone on Maryland's death row would be executed soon.The state's law went into effect 14 years ago and 10 men are sentenced to death. But the state's laws, dogged public defenders and "technicalities" have kept those cases in the appeals process, Judge Robert C. Murphy told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.Sen. Walter M. Baker, D-Cecil, the committee chairman, introduced a package of eight procedural bills to speed up the process.

The plan to substantially expand the Harford County Airport at Churchville in terms of runway capacity and number of flights per day has resurfaced, though in a more subdued form than had been pursued a little more than a decade ago. In short, the plan involves roughly doubling the width of the main runway to 75 feet and extending it by 1,000 feet to 3,200 feet, while closing two ancillary runways. Buildings on the property would also be upgraded. With a substantial portion of the airport on agricultural land, the Harford County Council made changes to the zoning regulations for agricultural districts to facilitate planned changes - thus allowing the airport owners to avoid the costly and oftentimes contentious process of having major upgrades approved through the county zoning appeals process.

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. -- From the chaos and emotion of one murderer's execution, a message rang clear: An impatient U.S. Supreme Court spanked a renegade federal appeals court, laying the groundwork to streamline an appeals process that has frustrated nearly everyone.For nine hours, fax machines in San Francisco and Washington waged a legal battle between the high court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the life of double murderer Robert Alton Harris. About 5:30 a.m. yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court finally flexed unprecedented political muscle by overriding the last of four stays that had given Harris another six hours of life.

Ignoring pleas from union leaders and the county's Annapolis delegation, the Baltimore County Council approved a bill Tuesday changing how county employees can appeal decisions about retirement benefits. The council voted 6-1 in favor of the bill, proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, was the only member of the council to oppose it, saying it will put county employees "through unnecessary hardship, both economically and procedurally.

Ignoring pleas from union leaders and the county's Annapolis delegation, the Baltimore County Council approved a bill Tuesday changing how county employees can appeal decisions about retirement benefits. The council voted 6-1 in favor of the bill, proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, was the only member of the council to oppose it, saying it will put county employees "through unnecessary hardship, both economically and procedurally.

Last week, a St. Mary's County judge sentenced John Thanos, convicted in the slaying of an Eastern Shore teen-ager, to death. Thanos thus became the 11th person on Maryland's death row. However, no one has been executed in Maryland since 1961, due in part to a cumbersome appeals process that requires at least 24 separate steps and can go on for years. The Thanos sentence followed by a few days Delaware's first execution in 46 years.The Evening Sun would like to know what you think. Putting aside any ethical arguments, do you believe Maryland's death penalty should be eliminated because the system does not work in the way it was intended?

Marylanders will get a chance to express their views at public hearings on how to speed up the appeals process for death-row inmates.Gov. William Donald Schaefer appointed a commission last month to look into ways to expedite the costly appeals process. The commission is scheduled to issue a report on Dec. 1.Thirteen people are on death row in the state, but Maryland has not executed anyone since June 10, 1961, when Nathaniel Lipscomb died in the gas chamber for murdering three women.The panel will seek ideas from the public at a series of hearings on the process before issuing a report.

George Huguely V, the former University of Virginia lacrosse player convicted last year of drunkenly beating to death his girlfriend Yeardley Love, has asked the Virginia Court of Appeals to review his case. Huguely's attorneys argued in a petition filed Tuesday that the court violated Huguely's constitutional rights. Love, the victim, was from Cockeysville. "The circuit court's response to the intense media interest was to rush through the trial, rather than to ensure that the accused received a fair trial," Craig S. Cooley and Paul D. Clement, the attorneys, wrote in the petition.

The Maryland Office of Public Defender has withdrawn a proposed rule change that critics had labeled a "back-door" attempt to slow down the death penalty appeals process.As a result of public defender Stephen E. Harris' decision late Friday, legislators called off a planned hearing on the matter yesterday.The state attorney general's office had charged that the proposed rule change would have kept Maryland from complying with a new federal law that lets states avoid some death penalty appeals.

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger's commentary in favor of the death penalty demands a clarifying response ("'Time to abolish the death penalty in Md.?" Jan. 18). Mr. Shellenberger begins by cherry-picking polling results that show Marylanders are closely divided over repealing the death penalty, with neither side achieving a clear majority. However, poll after poll over the last several years has shown that as many as two-thirds of Marylanders are strongly supportive of the idea that a sentence of life without parole is an acceptable substitute for the death penalty.

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger's commentary in favor of the death penalty demands a clarifying response ("'Time to abolish the death penalty in Md.?" Jan. 18). Mr. Shellenberger begins by cherry-picking polling results that show Marylanders are closely divided over repealing the death penalty, with neither side achieving a clear majority. However, poll after poll over the last several years has shown that as many as two-thirds of Marylanders are strongly supportive of the idea that a sentence of life without parole is an acceptable substitute for the death penalty.

George Huguely V, the former University of Virginia lacrosse player convicted last year of drunkenly beating to death his girlfriend Yeardley Love, has asked the Virginia Court of Appeals to review his case. Huguely's attorneys argued in a petition filed Tuesday that the court violated Huguely's constitutional rights. Love, the victim, was from Cockeysville. "The circuit court's response to the intense media interest was to rush through the trial, rather than to ensure that the accused received a fair trial," Craig S. Cooley and Paul D. Clement, the attorneys, wrote in the petition.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, the governor's point man on legislation governing public-private partnerships, said Wednesday that the administration will not risk the measure's defeat over a controversial amendment that could change the rules for appeals in a lawsuit challenging the State Center redevelopment plan in Baltimore. Brown said the amendment, tacked on the  bill in the House Environmental Matters Committee, did not come from the administration. "We neither oppose it nor promote it," he said.

The County Council's move to revise the county ethics laws makes Howard one of the first local governments to approve the new standards mandated by the General Assembly last year. The changes, approved Monday, provide more detail in the county ethics laws regarding gifts, financial disclosure statements and lobbying provisions. It also expands the role of the county's ethics commission, requiring it to maintain an annual report of lobbying activity. The bill bans former County Council members from lobbying on legislative issues for a year after leaving office, and prohibits former employees from bidding to do business with the county on a contract for which they helped write specifications.

The Baltimore County school board decided Tuesday to table the measure on easing controversial requirements for parent and community groups to use the school system's buildings. After months of community outcry over Rule 1300, as the policy is known, the Board of Education considered several changes that include allowing the groups to use outside vendors, waiving insurance requirements and fees for small groups, outlining an appeals process, and detailing a list of groups authorized to use school facilities.

Ron Wirsing offers a risky and implausible suggestion in his letter ("Limit death penalty appeals to three years," March 1). Death penalty appeals and habeas motions do take time. But unfortunately, that is because we have done so little to avoid the serious errors that continue to come to light many years after trial, and sometimes after all appeals have been exhausted. For example, Kirk Bloodsworth was sentenced to death in Maryland in 1985, but it took until 1993 for the results of DNA tests to conclusively prove his innocence.

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to improve a system that can leave the disabled waiting years for benefits, the Social Security Administration unveiled a plan yesterday that it hopes will provide help within six weeks of when people apply.Under the new blueprint, applicants could sit down and discuss their cases with Social Security officials before decisions were made -- a sharp change from the way the system works today.The Woodlawn-based agency's management of the nation's $40 billion disability programs has faced sharp attacks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in recent years.

The Baltimore County school board decided Tuesday to table the measure on easing controversial requirements for parent and community groups to use the school system's buildings. After months of community outcry over Rule 1300, as the policy is known, the Board of Education considered several changes that include allowing the groups to use outside vendors, waiving insurance requirements and fees for small groups, outlining an appeals process, and detailing a list of groups authorized to use school facilities.

Homeowners are usually happy to find the value of their property is increasing - especially when they are looking to sell or tap its equity. But soaring home prices also bring higher tax bills, as 692,000 homeowners found out early this month when assessment notices landed in their mailboxes. The assessments, on which tax bills are based, marked the largest increases in values since 1980, when the state adopted a three-year cycle for assessing properties. Assessments for residential properties rose an average of 52.2 percent from when they were revalued three years ago. With home prices in many areas regularly posting double-digit increases over the corresponding month a year earlier, the increases were hardly a surprise, state officials said.

Acting on scores of complaints about how poorly insurance companies responded to Tropical Storm Isabel, community leaders and government leaders have scheduled a series of meetings in eastern Baltimore County over the next week to determine what went wrong and to help storm victims file insurance appeals. "This isn't going to be another town meeting where everyone stands up and says their piece," said Bernice Myer, president of the Millers Island Improvement Association and founder of the Isabel Victims Citizens Group.