The Circuit Court for Baltimore City is a Court of general
jurisdiction. It consists of thirty-three active judges who are assigned
among four dockets: criminal, civil, family and juvenile. Fifteen judges
currently preside over courts assigned to criminal cases.
There is one arraignment court and two reception courts
that operate daily. There is one reception court per court
building, each conduct three separate sessions: 9:30 a.m., 11:00
a.m., and 2:00 p.m. Each session is assigned approximately eight
incidents of all types for a total of approximately 24 cases in each
Reception Court per day. Reception Court also operates as the
Administrative Court.
Nine judges are assigned trials from the two Reception Courts. These
cases involve all types of serious charges involving violent crimes,
property crimes and allegations of violations of the narcotics laws.
Additionally, three judges preside over prayers for jury trials in
misdemeanor cases which originated in the District Court. The Court also
operates two Drug Court dockets. The Court is able to utilize the
services of retired judges and assigns them to preside over Drug
Treatment Court.
The Circuit Court for Baltimore City in July 2001 began scheduling
pre-trial conferences in certain felony docket cases. Some cases are
sufficiently complex that the conferences assist in the resolution of
issues prior to the trial date which otherwise may have necessitated
postponement of the case at the time of trial. Pre-trial conferences are
scheduled at 8:30 a.m. on the dockets of those judges assigned to felony
trials so as not to impact on the court’s scheduled trials.
All criminal dockets are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. If
you are unclear about the location of your trial, please call
410-333-3811 or contact the Criminal Assignment Office located in Room
142 of the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse. The judges assigned to
the criminal docket may hear dispositions before other scheduled events.
This allows attorneys who need to appear in other courts to be free to
attend those proceedings following the completion of the
disposition. If a reason should arise that a trial cannot proceed
as scheduled, the judge at Reception Court has the authority to
rule on the request.
In an effort not only to meet the primary objective of trial delay
reduction, but also to lower the recidivism rate, Baltimore City created
a drug treatment court in 1994 for non-violent offenders in both the
District and Circuit Courts. Defendants who are motivated and are
otherwise eligible, can have their cases assigned for supervision to a
special unit of the Baltimore City Division of Parole and Probation.
These defendants enter guilty pleas for sentences which are suspended as
long as they successfully participate in the program.
The Circuit Court for Baltimore City is constantly analyzing its
procedures in an attempt to improve the efficiency of its operation. The
reception court model was implemented in March 2007 and is functioning
well. The overall goal of the court is to provide a timely, efficient
and fair procedure for the trial of all cases.
