MARYLAND BRIEFING

BALTIMORE

18 Inmates Are Injured in Fight

Eighteen inmates were injured, three seriously, during a prison yard fight yesterday at a state corrections center in Baltimore, authorities said.

The fight broke out at the Metropolitan Transition Center about 1:30 p.m., said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a corrections spokeswoman. Prison officials said three inmates with serious injuries were taken to hospitals.

Details about the cause of the disturbance were not immediately available, but it involved several groups of inmates, some armed with homemade weapons, Doggett said. No corrections workers were injured.

The facility will remain on lockdown indefinitely, and the emergency operations command center has been activated, which is the standard procedure, she said.

-- Associated Press

HOWARD MURDER TRIAL

Escape Attempt Prompts Delay

A raucous courtroom escape attempt prompted a judge yesterday to postpone indefinitely the trial of a state inmate charged in the slaying of a corrections officer.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge Dennis M. Sweeney said he is also considering recusing himself to avoid any appeals based on his role in the scuffle, which left two prospective jurors and two sheriff's deputies slightly injured Thursday, the first day of jury selection.

Sweeney's decision to start over with a new jury pool will probably delay the trial of Brandon T. Morris, who is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, until at least September.