FY 26 Approved Operating Budget

JUDICIAL

ORIGIN & PURPOSE : The Circuit Courts were fi rst established in Maryland by the Constitution of 1851 and were continued by subsequent Constitutions which were passed in 1864 and 1867 . Since 1867 , Harford County and Baltimore County have comprised the Third Judicial Circuit . The Circuit Court for Harford County is a Court of General Jurisdiction . It handles a wide variety of civil disputes including tort and contract disputes for parties requiring a jury trial . It also hears family law related cases including divorce , child custody and child support cases . On the criminal side , it hears felony cases and prayers for jury trial from the District Court . The State of Maryland pays for the judges ’ salaries and the expense of a full - time master as well as providing for fi ve law clerks . It also funds the O ffi ce of the Clerk of the Circuit Court which provides the sta ff for the Court system . Harford County funds the costs of the judges ' sta ff as well as the operation of the Jury Commissioner ' sO ffi ce , the O ffi ce of Family Court services and the Community Work Service Program . The Circuit Court strives to contain expenditure requirements and still provide expeditious , quality service to the residents of Harford County . AGENCY GOALS : To continue to provide for the e ffi cient management of both domestic and non - domestic cases ; To ensure that litigants are able to have their legal disputes and problems resolved as e ff ectively and e ffi ciently as the situation permits while still doing justice for all concerned ; To continue to review the jury selection process in order to bring it in conformance with the new state law regarding the selection of jurors ; To continue to use all reasonable measures to ensure that jurors are not brought in unless their presence will be necessary to resolve a case , to minimize the inconvenience of serving on jury duty to the citizens of Harford County and to reduce jury expenditures ; To re fi ne and modify the scheduling and hearing of juvenile cases to ensure that these matters are heard and decided as expeditiously as possible while doing justice to the victims , the juveniles and the citizens of Harford County ; To provide an opportunity for non - violent o ff enders to pay back to the community through the performance of community work service ; To continue to re fi ne and improve the quality of services o ff ered in domestic cases as well as develop new services to assist families and the court to promptly and e ffi ciently resolve custody and visitation disputes . MISSION STATEMENT : To bring a fair and just resolution for each of the cases fi led with the court .

549