The Honorable Richard O. Motsay, Sr.

Retired Baltimore City District Court Judge, founder of the Baltimore City Pre-Trial Release Program, former Baltimore City Prosecutor and World War II Veteran.

Richard O. Motsay, Sr, a retired judge of the Baltimore City District Court, was also a Baltimore City Prosecutor, the founder and architect of the Baltimore City Pre-Trial Release Program, and a World War II Veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania on May 26, 1925, Richard was the son of Joseph and Rose Mazzei.  He was the tenth of 14 children.

Richard graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School and served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.  After his honorable discharge, he received a B.A. from the University of Baltimore in 1949, and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1952 where he was selected for the Heuisler Honor Society, which recognized the top 10 percent of the graduating class.

Richard married the late Lucy Regina Brailer in 1950 and eventually settled in the Hamilton section of Baltimore.  They had 10 children and attended Saint Dominic Parish.  Lucy died in 1988.  In 1997, Richard married the former Jacqueline Leone.

After graduating from law school Richard had a private law practice.  From 1959 to 1963 he was the Appeals Counsel to the Board of Liquor License Commissioners of Baltimore.  In 1963, he joined the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office as a prosecutor.  In 1966, he was appointed the States Attorney Assistant Director to pilot the Baltimore Bail Project, a bail reform program that established a means of providing immediate bail for persons of reasonable risk, thus lowering costs of jailing defendants and reducing overcrowding in correctional facilities.  In 1967, Richard became the program's project director.  In 1968, he was appointed as the Director of the Pre-Trial Release Program which became a model for similar programs in other Maryland jurisdictions, across the nation and elsewhere in the world.  Richard helped create a four-county bail reform system in North Carolina.  He graduated from the Institute for Court Management in 1974.  He served as a member of the national steering committee on pre-trial services and a member of the national task force to establish a Pre-Trial Justice Institute.  He served as Director of the Baltimore City Pre-Trial Release Program until 1978 when he was appointed by acting Governor Blair Lee, III, as a judge for the Baltimore City District Court.  Richard served in that position until 1995 when he turned 70 years old and was required to retire due to court age requirements.  However, he continued to serve as a visiting retired judge throughout the State of Maryland into his 80's.

During his professional career, Richard was the author of journal articles for the American and Maryland State Bar Association and author of a study on the civil, criminal, and grand jury systems in the 8 ^th judicial circuit of Maryland.

Over the years, Richard belonged to many organizations including the American Legion Hamilton Post 20 where he served on the Executive Committee as Adjutant and Second Vice-Commander, the Knights of Columbus Santa Maria Council, the Holy Name Society where he served as secretary and was named Holy Name Man of the Year, and was active in the Coggins-O'Malley organization in the third district.

Richard is survived by his present wife, Jacqueline, and his children, Rosemary Ranier and her husband Edward, Richard O. Motsay, Jr. and his wife Paula, James Motsay and his wife Deborah, Charles Motsay and his wife Sandra, Sharon Tobin and her husband Thomas, Patrick Motsay and his wife Donna, Lucy Rutishauser and her husband Markus, Joan Brown and her husband Jeffrey, stepsons Jack Leone and his wife Barbara, Jeffrey Leone and his wife Mary, siblings Marie Carlson, Francis Motsay and Robert Motsay, 20 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

The family will receive friends at the family owned Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center, P.A., 2325 York Road, Timonium, MD 21093 on Thursday, July 22 from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at The Church of the Immaculate Conception, 200 Ware Avenue, Towson, MD 21204 on Friday, July 23 beginning at 11:00 AM.  Entombment private.  In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation.