Rasin

To the victim's family, Walter Lomax is - and will always be - the man who 39 years ago shot to death Robert L. Brewer, the night manager of a Brooklyn food market. To the defendant's friends and family, Walter Lomax is a poet and an activist - a man who was wrongly convicted and spent 39 years behind bars before a Baltimore judge freed him by suspending his life prison sentence. Those two groups, equally fervent in their beliefs, gathered again yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court.

On August 23, 2003, MARGARET E., beloved wife of Frederick F. Standiford; devoted sister of Franklin Zeller of New Freedom PA.; loving sister-in-law of Eleanor Shepard of Eustis, FL; also survived by her loving dog Rasin. Family wand friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service on Saturday, August 30 at 11 A.M. at THE JOHNSON FUNERAL HOME P.A., 8521 Loch Raven Blvd (Beltway exit 29B). Interment was private.

No enemy need attack the United States. With all the shooting, we are doing the job ourselves. The Pinochet precedent is that, while he may have been saved by senility, on principle he might be tried in a Spanish court for what he did as ruler of Chile; and so may anyone else. Judge Rasin agrees to putting judges in jail as long as they are let out nights and weekends. Would Marconi's be Marconi's in a Mies van der Rohe building?

The woman sat handcuffed in front of Baltimore Circuit Judge Gale Rasin, freshly convicted of second-degree child abuse for beating her 8-year-old grandchild with a belt. She was 44, depressed, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and likely dealing with post-traumatic stress from being raped twice, according to a court medical report, yet she had received little treatment. Her father physically abused her growing up, and she, in turn, abused her own family, Rasin concluded during the hearing.

An Annapolis District Court judge reduced bail to $2,500 yesterday for a Severn woman charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her husband Sunday.Judge Martha F. Rasin cut the bail for Merle Denise Thomas, 32, of the 1800 block of Arwell Court in Pioneer City, from $350,000 after a hearing.Ms. Thomas' husband, Steven Bernard Thomas, 32, was stabbed once in the chest about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.Paramedics took him to Kimbrough Army Hospital at Fort Meade, where he was pronounced dead, county police said.

Man found dead in creek after falling from boat A 45-year-old man was found dead yesterday morning in Mill Creek near Ferry Point Yacht Basin in Arnold, county police said, apparently after having fallen from his boat home. The man's name was not released by police yesterday pending notification of his family, said Officer Charles Ravenell, a police spokesman. Police do not suspect foul play, he said. Suspect in husband's killing on home detention A 58-year-old Shady Side woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 66-year-old husband last month has been released on home detention, county prosecutors said yesterday.

Jamil Molock, a welder and Cambridge resident, drowned Wednesday while swimming in the Choptank River near the Caroline County town of Choptank. He was 23. Mr. Molock, a Cambridge native, was a 1998 graduate of Cambridge South High School. He developed an interest in underwater welding and construction while in high school, and attended Divers Academy International in Camden, N.J. Mr. Molock enjoyed playing video games and performing odd jobs around his home. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Cambridge, where services will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

DO NOT be distracted by the histrionics of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Chief District Judge Martha F. Rasin. The important thing is that both of them have proposed a way to eliminate the longstanding bottleneck at Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Center. A compromise can -- and must -- be worked out. Ms. Rasin says she's ready to post a judge at Central Booking va01 five days a week. Mr. O'Malley wants one every day. Seven-day coverage, including holidays, makes the most sense.

After years of steadfast resistance, Maryland's two top judges agreed yesterday to assign a judge to Baltimore's jail, defusing a political battle with state lawmakers who threatened to cut the court's funding.The surprise turnabout comes as the judiciary comes under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers because Baltimore's courts are so backlogged that serious criminal charges, even murder, have been dismissed.The move follows a report last week by public safety officials which determined that $21 million could be saved, and hundreds of cases could be handled, if a full-time judge with jurisdiction over felony and misdemeanor cases staffed a jail-house courtroom that has sat mostly empty for two years.

Public access to unserved criminal warrants will be restricted across the state in response to complaints by law enforcement officials that suspects are being tipped off before they can be arrested.Chief Judge Martha F. Rasin of Maryland's district court said yesterday that beginning as soon as next week, she will block computerized access to unserved arrest warrants. And a higher court judge said he wants to further restrict access.While First Amendment advocates criticized Rasin's decision -- saying it will make it harder for the public to monitor police actions -- police praised her."