>> as the archbishop lobbies for more funding, a group of angry catholics go on the attack on the airwaves. >> a college student from baltimore died during spring break in mexico, just two months before his graduation. how his family is remembering him tonight. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> the big story tonight, and shake up in the court. a baltimore county judge has been reassigned following a story about what happened in his courtroom last week. >> the judge decided to marry a domestic violence suspect and a woman he was accused of beating. the reassignment of judge darrell russell means he will not be hearing any cases for an indefinite period of time. the decision was made by the chief judge of the district court system. came less than 24 hours after

our story aired and amid strong reaction to the judge's conduct. >> i was appalled. i was stunned, watching that piece last night. a former county prosecutor is referring to the story of what happened last week. according to a tape of a court proceeding, district court judge darrel russell agreed to resolve a domestic violence case by going along with the suspected abusers plan to avoid prosecution by marrying his alleged victim. >> why don't i just marry them today in court? >> judge russel seem to actively participate in the defense in this case, in that he facilitated a marriage which resulted in an acquittal. i was really, really disturbed and offended, and somewhat embarrassed to be a lawyer associated with the criminal- justice system. >> the judge allow time for the

suspected of beazer and his fiancee to get a marriage license, in just two hours later marry them himself in the judge's chamber. >> i've performed the ceremony back in my chambers. >> we are talking about judge russell, the tryer of facts. >> to marry the couple? there has to be a different system. >> when the criminal case resumed last week, the alleged victim invoke her marital privilege which prevents her from being forced to testify. the judge then found her new husband not guilty and send them off with this comment. >> i found not guilty, so i cannot send an shoe as a defendant in any crimes -- i cannot sentence you as a

defendant in any crimes. >> this is a time when he judicial are disability should be looking at this. this was way out of the realm of the normal. >> judge russell told us he did not see what was newsworthy about this case. he initially agreed to an interview with us, then canceled an hour later. >> we have heard from all lot of you on this story through our website. when you are right, i cannot understand a simple disregard that a judge could have for the real and potentially deadly danger that domestic violence presents. it is difficult to get a victim to prosecute in these cases in the best of circumstances. another viewer says, i cannot think there was a gun pointed to this woman's head to make her marry this guy who had beat her up. what do you think? add your comments by going to our website, wbaltv.com.

>> milton tillman jr. and his 35-year-old son work indicted on a number of charges. the two men made their first appearance in court today. lowell melser was there and joins us with what happened. >> it was a pretty cut and dried first appearance. both men read their official charges and had a chance to consult with their attorneys really. the judge deciding to release both men until the actual trial begins. we did get a closer look at all the charges in this case. according to the u.s. attorney's office, the indictment alleges that both milton tillman jr. and his son is hard to defraud the irs and operate a bail bond business in violation of federal law, while tillman jr. also collected pay for a no show job at the port of baltimore. the indictment states that from 2001 to 2007, tillman jr. and

his son were able to conceal from the irs tillman jr's control of the business and how much money the business was making, citing gross receipts went from $200,000 in 2000 to almost $6 million in 2006. the indictment charges that the tilden's use money from the business that they never reported to the irs for payment of a luxury car, personal expenses, life insurance, and payment of personal income taxes. tillman jr. was also not allowed to run a bail bond business because of a conviction for bribing a city zoning official. the indictment says tillman jr. defrauded ports america by obtaining wages and fringe benefits for hours he never worked, 64 paychecks the indictment claims he received while on vacation in brazil, spain, and las vegas.

>> the judge decided to release them from federal custody until the trial begins, as long as the report to pretrial services of their whereabouts and stay at one address. if convicted, both men face up to 100 years in prison. >> for the second time this week, crews were called to the mitchell courthouse, this time for a suspicious package. it happened this morning and calvert street. >> [unintelligible] >> on monday, police were called after a series of threatening letters arrived at the courthouse and city hall. city hall was evacuated for a short time because one letter had a white, powdery substance in it. it was later found to be harmless. police say the written threats inside the letters were all

similar. tonight there is a new salvo in the battle to keep more than a dozen catholic schools open. radio ad is accusing the archdiocese of forcing a low and middle income families out of baltimore city catholic schools. kerry cavanaugh has more. >> the archbishop reiterated that 13 schools will close in several months. many families are saying higher tuition will force them out of catholic education altogether. the recent decision to close more than a dozen catholic schools and the baltimore area sparked an outcry. some fighting the closures are taking to the airwaves. >> i am a catholic parishioners in the archdiocese of baltimore. i am saddened by the closure of the nine baltimore catholic schools. if you are a parishioner and you

feel as i do, call the archbishop's office and tell them that we want the schools to continue to serve our low and middle income parishioners. >> arch bishop edmond o'brien travel to annapolis and testified in favor of a 75% tax credit for businesses to donate scholarships to private schools, and defended his decision to shutter 13 institutions. >> if we are born to keep our school system alive, we have to fill the seats. >> some parents believe the closures will shut baltimore city children out of catholic school because in many cases, transferring to another school entails a tuition hike and a longer commute. >> most of the kids here, i feel like i am luckier than most and

i have options. most of the kids here do not have options. they come from single-parent families and cannot get to other schools. this was their only option. >> i sympathize with those who are upset, and we are doing everything we can to deal with students and parents and schools to make sure that every kid and a catholic school right now has an opportunity to go to catholic school next year. >> they are spices may organize a bus service but will not offer tuition help -- the arch diocese may organize a bus service. a spokesman said the charge by a -- in the archdiocese did what was financially necessary. >> state lawmakers are preparing to vote on amendments to certain sex offender laws. one may eliminate credits for

offenders. they want to change a lifetime supervision bill that would allow sex offenders to request release supervision after five years. >> if we say lifetime supervision, we should mean lifetime supervision. >> when an offender is on active supervision, which is what the bill provides, less than one- third of 1% are rearrested for sex crimes. >> negotiations are under way as to whether or not to allow parole for certain sex offenses. the house votes tomorrow on those bills. >> of baltimore family is remembering their son who died over the weekend in a drowning accident. he was on spring break in cancun, mexico. officials do not have a lot of information on the circumstances surrounding his death. his mother says her son had gotten a crab and the water and was pulled under.

-- may have gotten a cramp in the water. >> he was a young man who is very responsible. he was never one to overindulge in anything. >> federal arrangements have been finalized. the viewing will be held monday morning and the funeral will be at the church tuesday morning at 11:00. officials in mexico are expecting 10,000 college students for spring break, but it comes in the middle of increased drug violence. mexican officials say to americans and one mexican citizen link to the american consulate have been killed during gunfire.

police presence has been increased in all of ". -- has been increased and aca pulco. officials say at least 19 people have been killed over the last three days. >> if you pick up a paper today, you could not help but notice it. >> it is a little thicker, because of 50 extra pages looking for property owners who are behind on their taxes. >> when a baltimore tradition is expected to return. >> find out why doctors say this is typically the time of year for increased vasectomies. >> picture-perfect late winter weather as we head toward the first day of spring on saturday. we will see of this

>> a long list of city property owners behind on their taxes used up nearly evicted pages in today's baltimore sun. the city is putting the properties up for sale. >> just like any other job, you work on an old house, there is a lot of court. it takes a lot of resources and time and energy. >> jason is a step closer to rehabilitating a house on the street. he owns five properties initially picked up an attack sale. >> i enjoy doing the work, so i am here. >> $193,000 in taxes owed from this lot alone. >> you still have to pay the taxes, if you take a year to work on it. >> thousands of baltimore homes

and businesses are printed in the ad. the list includes property -- while many people have lost their homes because of the bad economy, the city says properties that are part of the tax sale in the past are eligible to be put in the sale again three years later. should all the properties listed be part of the tax sale? at police lodge 3 on buena vista avenue, union members find hard to swallow this city tax bill for more than $33,000. the dispute involves is water meter between high-performance manufacturing and the union hall. in february, the city notified the union -- the fop is listed

in the paper for the tax sale. >> there is a new option available for city residents who do not have access to competitively priced grocery stores. they have an opportunity to order their groceries on-line and then pick them up at the local library. the baltimore city health department says it will make it easier for residents to have fresh food if they are now at what -- if they are not able to commute to distant supermarkets. >> the library provides an opportune chance to offer healthy food to persons in those communities. >> of the washington village and orleans democrat -- library or participating in that program. >> the arabbers will drop legal

claims against the city. the horses will be inspected regularly and the owners say they hope to get back to business and about a month. >> what is the first place you will go? >> senior citizens are are favored customers. >> i feel good about this. >> the owners plan to pick up the horses as early as tomorrow morning. >> what does a vasectomy have to do with march madness? urologists say the number of scheduled the sec is increases by 50% of the which -- the week march madness begins. it is a phenomenon that urologists have been noticing for several years. there is a 50% jump in vasectomies. >> they are prepared by the time

the games get started. they are icing down and ready for a good weekend. >> doctors have noticed a similar job in surgery just before the super bowl as well. >> now, your forecast with cheap meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> that assumes you can watch a basketball game and just sit there without jumping off the couch and cheering. i have to be walking around and moving. 67 degrees today at bwi marshall. a warmer than normal st. patrick's day. in 1945 it was 85 degrees for the record high, and 15 was the record low for st. patrick's day in 1900. we did have some tree pollen in the atmosphere today, pushing up

into the moderate range. other than your spring allergies, it has been a perfect weather pattern, and will get a little better. probably up around 70 in the next few days, before changes come in later in the weekend. the normal high is 54 and we are still nearer 50 in many areas around the beltway. some choleric out in western maryland -- cool air out in western maryland. there is some high, then cloud cover reaching across the lower part of the bay. a storm to the south that looks like it will stay south of us. here in baltimore, a clear morning. the clouds and are coming up into the southern part of the bay are producing some wet weather down across parts of the carolinas and into north georgia. this swirling area of low

pressure is expected to move east of the south atlantic coast and away from us. that allows high-pressure north and west to continue to build an and dominate our weather pattern for several more days. the front in the northern plains will not get here and have an impact on our weather until sunday. until that front it's here, enjoy the beautiful weather. the last few days of winter will certainly feel like spring. lots of sunshine going into friday and even saturday. here comes that front moving into western ohio by saturday evening. a few showers trying to get into west virginia. that moves into baltimore on sunday and will change the weather pattern next week. for tomorrow, sunny and mild, i from 64-69. 58 at deep creek tomorrow with mainly sunny skies. chilly right on the shore of the

bay, but in london it will be 67 -- inland it will be 67. northwest winds on the bait with rape -- waves running less than a foot. a water temperatures trying to climb into the upper 40's. spring begins on saturday afternoon. the cold front arrives on sunday, bringing a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening. when day and much cooler weather and monday and tuesday. >> president obama filling out his brackets. he does not think much of gary williams. sports is next. >> is powerball.

happy st. patrick's day. we have very green, how about a guaranteed $20 million tonight? tonight you are multiplier is2. refers number. 55-26-48-45-24. time for your powerball, and that number is 8. good luck, everybody. good luck, everybody.

>> maryland terrapins back in the big dance. they barely even drop in the rankings after a loss from georgia tech. they are at their best when they feel slighted. marilyn has not faired well as a front runner, but fear not, barack obama to the rescue. the president held out his racket and said that maryland has a great player, but michigan state has a great coach. williams expects the turks to do

well this year. >> if we get to jacked up, we try things we do not usually do. we have to stay away from that and play within what you do. there are very few teams that do not play hard in the n.c.a.a. tournament. >> without question, morgan state in -- entertains the role with west virginia. morgan has a prolific scorer in reggie alms. kevin johnson will play in the nba sunday. >> having back-to-back conference wins with three regular-season and a rope helps

when you are in the conference tournament. it will bode well for the program and continue to build. we are really excited about that and says a lot about the work they have put in. >> orioles and blue jays got together today. that was the most interesting note from today's game. that and celebrating st. patrick's day. not getting much help from the defenders. that looks like spring training. the birds fall today, four-one for the final perio. occasionally they can -- competitive fires go out. pitching for his new team, the mariners let one fail.

lee has been suspended for the first five games of the regular season. he will likely appeal. the maryland lacrosse team enjoys its best start in six years. georgetown hosting delaware. curtis dickerson lets it like anti's the game at 7. -- and ties the game at 7. he finds the net. he scoops at home and still is a game for georgetown.

>> a beautiful weather pattern continuing 40 more days. spring arrives on saturday and then changes early in the week. >> have a good night, everybody.

tonight, jay w