Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to the editor of Property Taxpayers United's bulletin, January 27, 1994

Robert L. Ehri i, Jr. LEGISLATIVE ADORE sIP8 House of delegates Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991 January 27, 1994 To The Editor: Imagine my surprise when I read in the January 1994 edition of Property Taxpayers United's bulletin that "Maryland trial lawyers" have blocked passage of "any victims' rights laws" in the Maryland General Assembly. If the author of that comment would have bothered to perform ANY research, he or she would have found pages of statutes (many passed during the last seven years) providing victims of crime with specific rights in the criminal justice process. Moreover, he or she would have found that I was the chief co-sponsor of last year's ground breaking victims' rights bill - the first of its kind in the nation! Finally, anyone interested in learning the facts surrounding the victims ' rights debate would have learned that an entirely reconstituted amendment has been submitted this year. This new bill cures the defective language of past bills and enjoys widespread support in the House Judiciary Committee. I am a co-sponsor of this piece of legislation, along with many other lawyers and non-lawyers who believe in the obligation to vote in a responsible, thoughtful manner. Public life can be difficult at times. Discussions about the important issues of our lives can, at times, lead to lively and heated debate. This is as it should be. When the debate includes "news" that has no basis in reality, however, it is incumbent upon everyone to demand accuracy from those who seek to influence public opinion. Hopefully, the grossly inaccurate statement contained in PTU's bulletin constituted a mistake independent of politics. If not, the author of this statement should come clean with the people of northern Baltimore County with respect to his or her true agenda. Thank you for the opportunity to communicate my views . I will be happy to appear anywhere, anytime to discuss victims' rights or any other issue of importance to our community. RLE : pd