Orphans Court

A candidate for the Orphans' Court of Baltimore City has erroneously suggested in official correspondence that she is a current member of the court, according to a letter released yesterday by the Maryland Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee. The committee criticized Ramona Moore Baker for having a business card and signing letters as "Ramona Moore Baker, Judge of The Orphans Court. Balt. City" and for sending a fax with the heading "Judge of the Orphans Court." "It is the committee's determination that the materials disseminated by you or those under your authority ... are misleading," said the Aug. 28 letter, addressed to Moore Baker and signed by committee co-chairmen George Beall, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland, and Stephen H. Sachs, a former Maryland attorney general.

A nonbinding referendum on whether residents want an elected county school board and elimination of the county's Orphans Court are among Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's legislative priorities for this General Assembly session. "We should give the voters the right to have a direct say in who should oversee this 53 percent of the county budget," Leopold said of school system funding, hitting what has been a hot-button issue in the county for more than a decade. Leopold outlined his agenda Friday to the county's General Assembly delegation, giving legislators a mix of items affecting only the county and statewide legislative ideas, and drawing a mixed reception on his wish list.

I love the Dickensian sound of it: the Orphans' Court. One hears the phrase delivered from the lips of Dame Judith Dench or Ian McKellen: "The Or- phans' Court. " It has existed in Maryland since 1777, and its name derives from London's Court for Widows and Orphans, where the children of deceased male landowners were considered orphans whose inheritance had to be protected. The Orphans' Court operates in Baltimore and all but two Maryland counties, and — news flash from the 18th Century!

The year is 2012. Isn't it about time the state of Maryland came up with some name a bit more 21st century than "Orphan's Court"? What a hillbilly name for a court in a supposedly up to date state! Douglas B. Hermann, Parkville

The year is 2012. Isn't it about time the state of Maryland came up with some name a bit more 21st century than "Orphan's Court"? What a hillbilly name for a court in a supposedly up to date state! Douglas B. Hermann, Parkville

Maryland's system of resolving disputes over wills and estates is being challenged in Baltimore County this fall, as voters decide whether the local Orphans' Court judges should be required to have law licenses. A statewide referendum in the Nov. 6 election proposes amending the Maryland constitution to exclude the county's "lay judges," a title that has existed since 1777, when the court was created under the constitution. A similar, separate ballot question applies to the court in Prince George's County . The two ballot questions have been overshadowed by referendums on broader hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage and expanded gambling.

City Register of Wills Mary W. Conaway is challenging the $60 fee that the Orphans' Court charges for hearings to appoint legal guardians and to settle estates.Baltimore is the only jurisdiction in the state that charges an Orphans' Court hearing fee, and Conaway has written Robert C. Murphy, chief judge of the Court of Appeals, and asked him to investigate the matter."What bothers me is that it is yet another fee imposed on people of Baltimore City," Conaway says.Conaway, who serves as clerk to the Orphans' Court, says many Baltimoreans cannot afford to pay the fee.RTC Murphy says he has received Conaway's letter and asked Susan Whiteford, a lawyer in the state attorney general's office, to examine its assertions.

After a dozen years of trying to get elected to the Baltimore Orphans Court — first as its register of wills and later as a judge — Laudette Ramona Moore Baker finally got her wish on Election Day. But the victory may be short-lived. While she was being elected to the vacant spot on the three-judge panel Tuesday, state voters were approving a constitutional amendment that bars her from taking the $65,000-a-year job because she's not a lawyer. The situation has put Baker into a state of legal limbo and created a conundrum for the two sitting judges — both members of the Maryland bar who are dismayed that a nonjurist was elected to join them.

A nonbinding referendum on whether residents want an elected county school board and elimination of the county's Orphans Court are among Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's legislative priorities for this General Assembly session. "We should give the voters the right to have a direct say in who should oversee this 53 percent of the county budget," Leopold said of school system funding, hitting what has been a hot-button issue in the county for more than a decade. Leopold outlined his agenda Friday to the county's General Assembly delegation, giving legislators a mix of items affecting only the county and statewide legislative ideas, and drawing a mixed reception on his wish list.

Charter Amendment A, which would allow appointment to county government positions on the basis of merit, has been proposed by Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker to streamline hiring guidelines.The current system requires that appointments be made from a list of the top 10 applicants, which often involved a time-consuming search and screening. Sometimes, 10 applicants couldn't be found. If this charter amendment passes, companion legislation would allow appointments to be culled from a list of no fewer than three candidates.

// Obama for president //   Four years ago, President Barack Obama took office as the economy was in steep decline with millions in the process of losing their jobs, the nation was locked in seemingly endless military conflicts, Wall Street firms were getting bailed out but not held accountable and a growing number of Americans were unable to afford health insurance. Today, the economy is growing, albeit modestly, the U.S. military has largely withdrawn from Iraq and will do so in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden is dead, the federal government has begun more closely regulating the kind of large banks and finance companies that contributed to the mortgage crisis and health care reform is gradually making sure working Americans can get affordable insurance for themselves and their families -- including those with pre-existing conditions.

The general public has never been especially fond of lawyers or judges. When Gallup polls Americans asking what professions they view favorably and which they view negatively, the lawyers get a thumbs down every time — although, on the bright side, the federal government and the oil industry are rated considerably worse. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, you can hate lawyers until you need one. That's when they become invaluable in allowing a family to adopt a child or prevent an innocent person from being convicted of a crime or in upholding terms of a business contract.

Maryland's system of resolving disputes over wills and estates is being challenged in Baltimore County this fall, as voters decide whether the local Orphans' Court judges should be required to have law licenses. A statewide referendum in the Nov. 6 election proposes amending the Maryland constitution to exclude the county's "lay judges," a title that has existed since 1777, when the court was created under the constitution. A similar, separate ballot question applies to the court in Prince George's County . The two ballot questions have been overshadowed by referendums on broader hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage and expanded gambling.

Suzanne K. Mensh, who served Baltimore County for nearly five decades as an Orphans' Court judge and then as clerk of the county Circuit Court, died Wednesday at Northwest Hospital. Her family said no cause of death was given. She was 82. "She was a sincere lady," said a son, Spencer Mensh of Reisterstown. "The first word that comes to mind with her is 'integrity.'" Judge Mensh was encouraged to run for office by members of a local Democratic club who worked with her at polling locations, her son said.

While politicians are sworn in throughout Maryland this month, at least one general election winner from Baltimore may not make the final cut. Laudette Ramona Moore Baker won an uncontested spot on the city's Orphans Court in November — after a dozen years of running for various offices under different combinations of her four names. Yet, despite her victory, she never received the governor's commission required for her swearing-in. And according to Gov. Martin O'Malley's spokesman, she likely never will.

After a dozen years of trying to get elected to the Baltimore Orphans Court — first as its register of wills and later as a judge — Laudette Ramona Moore Baker finally got her wish on Election Day. But the victory may be short-lived. While she was being elected to the vacant spot on the three-judge panel Tuesday, state voters were approving a constitutional amendment that bars her from taking the $65,000-a-year job because she's not a lawyer. The situation has put Baker into a state of legal limbo and created a conundrum for the two sitting judges — both members of the Maryland bar who are dismayed that a nonjurist was elected to join them.

Michael Waring Lee, chief judge of Baltimore City Orphans' Court, died Sunday of complications after colon surgery at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 42.Judge Lee was a great-nephew of Everett J. Waring, who in 1885 became the first black admitted to the Maryland Bar.Judge Lee also made history -- as the first black to be appointed a chief judge of any court in Maryland. In 1983, he was 30 years old when Gov. Harry R. Hughes selected him to fill a vacancy on the three-member Orphans' Court.

The names on the small campaign signs seem strangely unfamiliar: Reddish, Rappaport, Hartleb, MacFarlane, Dodd, Moore, Fitzgerald, McNeal. They are the people who want elective, though often obscure, courthouse jobs. But that doesn't mean they don't compete just as fiercely as candidates running for county executive or governor. There is no competition this year for the best-known courthouse job — incumbent Howard County State's Attorney Dario Broccolino, a Democrat, has no opponent — but other court officials face a wall of public indifference and ignorance about what they do. Worse, register of wills candidates were left off a few sample ballots mailed to some county voters, though replacements were provided.

When Maryland voters go to the polls next month, they'll face decisions on three statewide questions that would impact the state constitution. The first two are straightforward — whether to hold a constitutional convention (a measure we believe is unnecessary and potentially problematic) and whether to amend the constitution to limit the right to a jury trial in civil disputes to lawsuits where the amount in controversy is greater than $15,000, a reasonable reform that would save money and help speed the docket.