BALTIMORE — Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that aims to revise a current state law that leads to some being arrested under false pretenses.
In Maryland a District Court Commissioner is empowered to issue charging documents against citizens accused of a crime, with the ability to grant or deny them bail.
Court Commissioners are not judges or lawyers, yet they're able to review allegations submitted by anyone from your average everyday citizen to police officers seeking to press criminal charges against someone accused of committing a crime.
They also have authority to issue temporary peace and protective orders in domestic violence situations. Additionally, commissioners are tasked with determining whether a defendant is eligible to be represented by the Public Defender's Office.
There are more than 279 District Court commissioners statewide, working all-year long around the clock.
Here is how the District Court of Maryland describes a court commissioner's duties on their website.
"If you believe that someone has committed a crime against you or a minor in your custody, you may visit a District Court commissioner and complete an “Application for Statement of Charges.” You will be required to provide a description of the person who committed the offense and a statement explaining what happened. The commissioner reviews the application to determine whether a crime has been committed and if there is reason to believe that the person you have accused committed the crime. If the commissioner determines that there is probable cause, a charging document is issued. The commissioner will then determine whether to issue a summons for the person to appear in court or a warrant for the person’s arrest. If a summons is issued, the accused person will receive a copy of the charging document, which states what laws the person is charged with breaking and the penalties for each violation. A court date will be scheduled later. If a warrant is issued, the document will be given to a law enforcement agency, which is responsible for finding and arresting the accused person. For individuals experiencing abuse, commissioners have the authority to issue an Interim Peace or Protective Order only when the courts are closed."
House Bill 21, proposed by Baltimore City Delegate Jackie Addison, would significantly pull back some of these extraordinary powers.
It would no longer allow court commissioners to issue warrants based off allegations made by civilians. Instead they would only be permitted to approve charging documents filed by police officers and State's Attorneys.
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates testified in support of the bill on January 28.
"Too often we see individuals that have arrest warrants put out on them for whatever reason, then they're detained , they're locked up, and they're arrested for whatever reason they've lost jobs, they've lost time from their community," said Bates.
During his testimony Bates recalled a time where a woman living in Baltimore pressed charges against rapper T.I., despite never meeting him.
"Our office referred to this as the T.I. bill. Rapper T.I. had an arrest warrant placed on him by a young lady who lived in Baltimore City, had never met him. And there was an arrest warrant for him," Bates testified. "Fortunately for him, when he was stopped at the airport, he had lawyers who reached out to our office and we were able to get that quashed. However, what about the average citizen?"
In these cases House Bill 21 would increase penalties for those filing false criminal complaints.
Prior offenders faced up to six months in jail, but if the bill were to pass punishment would carry up to three-years imprisonment.
"Protecting individuals from potential abuses of power, and when we come across those who intentionally abuse the process, I believe we need to have the proper penalties in place to send a a clear message that abuse will not be tolerated, holding them accountable for their actions, and hopefully preventing them from doing this over and over again," said Bates.
The bill is currently before the House Judiciary Committee awaiting a vote.
Addison proposed similar legislation last session that failed to make it out of committee.
