WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski (both D-MD) today praised the decision by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to keep the Maude R. Toulson Federal Building in Salisbury open. 

In March, following a proposal to close the Salisbury facility, the Senators wrote a letter to Thomas Hogan, Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, citing the unique nature of the M.R. Toulson Federal Building and the need for a federal court presence on the Eastern Shore.  The federal court handles more than 600 cases a year, including bankruptcies and  cases involving facilities on the Eastern Shore maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

“The Salisbury Federal Courthouse provides a critical link to Eastern Shore residents for important judicial proceedings,” said Senator Cardin.  “Its closure would have meant that residents would have had to travel more than 100 miles to the Baltimore federal courthouse, increasing its already unacceptably high backlog of cases.  This was the right decision and I am pleased.”

“This courthouse is the only federal courthouse located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland,” Senator Mikulski said. “It serves a necessary public service for residents on the Shore, supporting the M.R. Toulson Federal Building where it is housed, and providing our constituents and federal agencies a crucial link to the federal court system.  I am very pleased by today’s decision, which ensures fair access to the justice system for all Marylanders.”

In February, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts had proposed closing 60 court sites, including the Salisbury facility.  Instead, it has been announced that six court facilities will be closed for a savings of approximately $1 million a year.

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