FY2025 Proposed Operating and Capital Budgets
FY2025 Proposed Budget Organizational Budgets
Courts
Courts Frederick County Circuit Court
The mission of the Frederick County Circuit Court is to provide fair, efficient, and effective justice for all. Our vision is to work collaboratively with justice partners to serve the people with integrity, transparency, and innovation. Circuit Court This is the highest common law and equity Court of record exercising original jurisdiction within the State. It is a trial Court which handles major civil cases, where the controversy exceeds $25,000, family court cases, cases involving juveniles and more serious criminal
matters as well as appeals or requests for jury trials from the District Court and certain administrative agencies. Judges are usually appointed by the Governor for a period not to exceed two years, after which they must stand for election for a 15 year term.
Jury Selection System This system is administered by the Clerk of the Circuit Court under the direct supervision of the Jury Judge. There are two types of jurors: grand jurors and petit jurors. The Grand Jury plays an important role in the criminal justice process. It evaluates the State’ s evidence against a person and decides whether there is probable cause for criminal charges. Petit jurors serve in both criminal and civil matters, hearing evidence from all parties to the proceedings to decide the outcome of the case based on the facts and laws presented. Both grand and petit jurors are chosen by random selection from a fair cross section of citizens residing in the county. The jury pool is created from a consolidated list of registered voters from the Board of Elections and licensed drivers or identification card holders from the Motor Vehicle Administration. The Circuit Court also includes a Drug Treatment Court and provides family services as well as mediation services. Drug Treatment Court is a specialized court docket that targets criminal defendants and offenders who have alcohol and other drug dependency problems. Collaboration among court team members begins during the early planning stage to facilitate behavioral changes and improve t he participant’s ability to function effectively in society and remain crime free. The designated drug court judge provides overall leadership of the team and represents the court authority to the drug court participants. Family Services are designed to support families by offering programs that assist the court with ruling in the best interest of any children involved, while also assisting parties with decision making and future planning. Family Services are provided and accessible to all litigants regardless of their ability to pay and without regard to representational status. These services help the court fulfill the mandate of Maryland Rule 16-307.
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