Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

       The Council was formed in January of 1999 by key criminal justice stakeholders to address systemic problems and issues affecting criminal justice in Baltimore City. In April of 1999, the Council appointed a part-time Project Coordinator to direct its mission and to identify areas of possible reform. The initial focus was to expedite criminal cases processing by coordinating the efforts of criminal justice system participants. To formalize the ad hoc group, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the respective agencies in August 2001. This set forth the Council’s purpose and identified the composition of its membership; additionally, the responsibilities of its Executive Director were defined, to whom authority was given to adopt Action Plans and prepare an Annual Report.

        From September 1999 to November 2001, the Council was chaired by Judge David B. Mitchell. In September 2001, the Council held its first retreat to develop formal mission and vision statements and to identify present and future Council goals. Strategic focus areas and subsequent performance measures were developed to further compliment implementation and evaluation of prior/on-going, new and proposed initiatives.

        In November 2001, Judge Stuart R. Berger assumed the role of Chairman of the Council by virtue of his role as the Judge-In-Charge of the Criminal Docket, replacing Judge Mitchell, who resigned to pursue other career goals. Under Judge Berger’s tenure, the Council reorganized its method of addressing the critical issues affecting criminal justice in Baltimore City. In addition to conducting monthly meetings, the Council decided to create various subcommittees to discuss and develop an action plan for the significant issues the Council was addressing.

In January 2003, Judge John M. Glynn became the Judge-In-Charge of the Criminal Docket until January 2008. Under Judge Glynn's tenure, the Council contributed to numberous projects and developed several subcommittees to address various criminal justice issues in Baltimore City.

In January 2008, Judge John Philip Miller became the Judge-in-Charge of the Criminal Docket and assumed the role of Chairman of the Council. The Council was expanded to include the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Services as a member, and an organizational protocol for the CJCC was also developed during Judge Miller's tenure.

In January 2010, Judge M. Brooke Murdock became the Judge-in-Charge of the Criminal Docket and thus assumed the role of Chair of the Council. Under her leadership, the Post-Arrest Practices Committee was created to study and address issues regarding bail, pretrial release and other post-arrest concerns, and several key technology projects were funded by the Council which have improved connectivity for all of the members who utilize the CJCC fiber.

In January 2012, Judge Barry G. Williams assumed the position of Judge-in-Charge of the Criminal Docket and became Chair of the Council. Under his leadership the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council continues to make meaningful progress.