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Maryland Judiciary
Office of Communications and Public Affairs
2011-D Commerce Park Drive
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
410-260-1488
 

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory:
Maryland Judiciary Hosts Youths from DJS Facilities for Essay Contest

(ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Nov. 20, 2012) On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals will host the 18th Annual Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) and Maryland State Department of Education Oratorical Contest. The media is invited to attend.

Youth from different DJS facilities will come to the state’s highest court to deliver speeches they have prepared before a courtroom crowded with families, supporters and officials. These students have won oratorical competitions held in Maryland’s DJS facilities. Their three- to five-minute essays are based on one of Judge Bell’s favorite poems, which he frequently recites to young visitors to the court, “The Guy in the Glass.” The last stanza reads:
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Judge Bell has hosted the contest in the Court of Appeals since 1998, but this will be his last year to preside as sitting chief judge. Maryland law requires judges to retire at age 70, and Judge Bell will turn 70 in July 2013.

The media is invited to attend. Please contact the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, (410) 260-1488, for more information. See the notice from the DJS below regarding privacy.

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WHAT:	18th Annual Department of Juvenile Services and Maryland State Department of Education Oratorical Contest
WHEN:	Tuesday, Nov. 27, 10 a.m.-noon
WHERE:	Maryland Court of Appeals, 361 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis.
WHO:	Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals hosts students from Maryland’s DJS facilities
CONTACT:	Maryland Judiciary Office of Communications and Public Affairs, 410-260-1488. The media is invited to attend.

  
Maryland law and policies require that the Department of Juvenile Services maintain the privacy and confidentiality of those youth referred to the Department, including those committed to their care and subsequently placed at private facilities. This requirement cannot be waived by the Department without an explicit order from the courts or a written, signed consent of a youth and the youth’s parents.

Without waivers or consents, the media is requested to observe the following restrictions with regard to any youth:

Youths may be interviewed but may not be identified by either:
            1) Identifiable descriptions of the youth, his/her address, or his/her offense; or
            2) Photographing or filming which might reveal the identity of the youth.

For clarification of these requirements, please contact the DJS Public Information Officer at: 410-230-3348.

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