Life as a Constitutionist in the Maryland General Assembly

As you might expect, it is a challenge to uphold the values and views of our Founding Fathers in this day in age. It is sad but true that the majority of our elected officials (my colleagues) have very little regard to protect the Constitution and laws of this state. Instead, most seem enamored with imposing more law and regulation to control the lives of citizens who the Founders envisioned as free and brave.

In November, the General assembly was convened by order of the Governor for a Special Session to pass the largest tax increase in the history of Maryland. During that session, there was a Constitutional violation that was not only ignored but was covered up by the creation of fraudulent documents when discovered.

Here is what happened. On Friday Nov. 9th. the Senate adjourned until Tuesday Nov 13th. Then Senate President Miller decided to stay adjourned until the 15th. It was rumored that he was frustrated that the House had failed to act on the slots bill.

As of the 14th, the Senate had been adjourned 5 days so there was a challenge on the floor of the House of Delegates to question whether the legislature had violated the Maryland Constitution by not adhering to Article 3, Section 25 of the constitution which says, "Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, at any one time, nor adjourn to any other place, than that in which the House shall be sitting, without the concurrent vote of two-thirds of the members present."

The argument was made that the House did not vote and did not consent as required by the constitution. The challenge focused on the legality of anything the legislature would do from that point forward since the Senate failed to adhere to the state constitution.

Ironically, before any question had been raised on the House Floor, an attorney general's opinion was presented by Del. Kathleen Dumais, the Democrat parliamentarian. The opinion noted, “The part of the constitution in question has had fluid punctuation, switching between semicolons and commas at random.” "The punctuation in the rules, and the constitution, make a great deal of difference," Ms. Dumais said.

The opinion concluded, “The sentence is really made of two separate clauses and a vote is only needed if a chamber adjourns to a different place, not whether they can adjourn for more than three days.” “I do not believe there was the necessity of a vote," Ms. Dumais said. "We are proceeding properly."

Now, I admit that I am no scholar on punctuation, but I can certainly read a simple paragraph that only contains commas. In fact, our constitution was written for the average citizen to understand and apply. However, today we are led to believe that only lawyers and judges have the prerequisite intelligence and necessary schooling to understand and interpret it.

Please read Article 3, Section 25 of the constitution for yourself very carefully. Then again read the opinion of Mrs. Katherine Rowe of the Attorney Generals office. Was the constitution violated? You be the judge.

“We the people” still have the constitution to protect our property and our rights. Regrettably, these priceless protections are being chipped and stripped away by judicial activism and corruption, and a legislature either unaware or unwilling to do anything about it.

This situation could have been constitutionally resolved if the Speaker and the Senate President had simply addressed the Assembly, offered a correction and recorded a vote. Instead, it appears someone opted to defraud the citizens of Maryland by creating documents after the fact to cover their tracks.

Ultimately, in the end the question remains: Will the plain language of Article 3, Section 25 of the constitution and the rule of law prevail, or will the court chip away at the only document that provides Maryland citizens a means by which to secure their rights?

Far too many have bled and died for the freedoms we enjoy and tend to take those freedoms for granted. I hope for my children, grandchildren and future generations that men will continue to fight in the battlefield and in the courts to preserve our constitution and our freedoms.

On December 13, 2007, a Republican lawsuit was filed in Carroll County Circuit Court.
It may not seem so at first glance but this lawsuit hinges on the question, does our state constitution mean what it says or can the majority party simply ignore its requirements?

During the discovery of the charge, the House Chief Clerk admitted that she created the documents and back dated them. This is fraud, plain and simple. As of the date of this article, the court has not ruled on its findings.

The 2008 Legislative Session

As we prepare to begin session tomorrow, January 9, 2008, there is a tremendous amount at stake. It is obvious to most Americans that the rule of law and justice has been turned on its head in recent years. We will once again face new laws attempting to protect criminals and laws to overturn Maryland’s death penalty. We will also be running head on into battle regarding the legalization of “Same Sex Marriage” and the issue of granting illegal aliens a Maryland driver’s license and the ability for them to obtain in state tuition discounts.

Regrettably, many of our elected leaders have lost sight of our Founders intent and the rule of law.

Constitutionally yours,

Member, Maryland General Assembly
House Judiciary Committee