(Annapolis, MD) - On January 20, 2006, Judge M. Brooke Murdock overturned Maryland's 1973 marriage law, which states "only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this state." Delegate Dwyer, who has spearheaded efforts in Maryland to protect marriage through a constitutional amendment, promised to do all he could to impeach Judge Murdock for this act. Yesterday, he kept that promise.
At ten o'clock on Tuesday, March 07, 2006, Delegate Dwyer became the first Maryland legislator in more than 150 years to initiate the removal of a judge. His resolution, "An Address For The Removal Of Judge M. Brooke Murdock," charges the court with violating the public trust, abuse of power, incompetence, willful neglect of duty, and misbehavior in office. The resolution has been referred to judiciary committee and is likely to be voted on soon. If the charges are approved, the judge will be brought before the committee to defend herself.
"It's obvious to the public that whenever a judge legislates from the bench, our trust is violated. We, the people, write the laws not they, the judiciary. If the courts no longer care what the laws mean and they substitute their own judgment for the people's judgment, we have no choice but to remove them. We must use the system of checks and balances that our Founding Fathers gave us."