June 2026 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in three criminal appeals and one civil appeal. In all three criminal appeals, the Office of the Public Defender filed the petitions, two involving voir dire questioning. The Appellate Court opinions in all four appeals were unreported, and all four are scheduled to be argued in October.
Read More…SCOTUS Gives More Room for Advocacy in Appeal-Waiver Cases
For attorneys on the Fourth Circuit Criminal Justice Act appellate panel, no issue arises more frequently than the scope of appellate waivers in plea agreements. And no issue leads to more Anders briefs when appointed counsel identifies no potentially meritorious legal issue.
Today the Supreme Court of the United States issued an 8-to-1 opinion, Hunter v. United States, which is likely to become one of the most-cited cases in the country. Justice Kagan’s opinion for the Court recognized the “miscarriage of justice” exception to enforceability of appeal waivers:
Read More…Full Fourth Circuit to Rehear Challenge to Maryland Prescription Drug Law
In a pair of decisions this spring, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit held that drug manufacturers were likely to succeed on the merits of their challenges to Maryland and West Virginia statutes seeking to expand availability of discounted prescription drugs for low-income individuals. By a vote of two to one, the panel affirmed (in a reported opinion) a Northern District of West Virginia order denying a preliminary injunction, and it vacated (in an unreported opinion) a District of Maryland order denying a preliminary injunction.
Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, who dissented in both cases, provided this concise summary:
Read More…May 2026 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in two civil cases (to be argued this September) and one criminal case (to be argued this October). The Court also summarily granted review, vacated, and remanded in Maryland Military Department v. Harrington “so that the petitioner may present to [the Appellate Court] its contention that its failure to file the civil appeal information report was the result of excusable errors or neglect.”
Read More…Assessing Likelihood of Success in the Fourth Circuit
There is a divide on the Fourth Circuit on how to calculate a litigant’s odds of success. When a party seeks a preliminary injunction, the factors include the likelihood of success on the merits. Three recent Fourth Circuit decisions address the “multiplicative problem” when the movant must win on several issues.
The most recent offers what I’ll call the “Steph Curry Hypothesis.” Judge Quattlebaum, in United States v. Herrera-Juarez, calculated that a movant with a 75% chance of success on each of three dispositive issues cannot establish a likelihood of success:
Read More…Fourth Circuit Arguments in Appeals from the District of Maryland, May 2026
Below is a list of appeals from the District of Maryland being heard during the Fourth Circuit sitting that begins May 5, 2026. When available, we include the Clerk’s synopsis of the issues.
You can visit the Court’s argument calendar for more information on the appeals, including dates for each argument, PACER links to the briefs, and links for audio livestreams. On the morning of each argument day, the Clerk will update the argument calendar to disclose the composition of the three-judge panels.
To compile this list, we’re going only by the district judge’s name, which can be overinclusive (if a Maryland-based judge was sitting by designation elsewhere within the Circuit) or underinclusive (if an outside judge was sitting by designation in the District of Maryland). Feel free to leave a comment if we’ve missed anything.
Read More…April 2026 Certiorari Grant
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in one civil case:
Read More…“A Supermajority of the Court Concurring”
In today’s per curiam order dismissing certiorari as improvidently granted (colloquially, a “DIG” order) in Tonrey v. Towson University, the Supreme Court of the Maryland used a phrase that has never before appeared in its opinions and published orders: “a supermajority of the Court concurring.”
The phrase “a majority of the Court concurring” often appears in the Court’s per curiam orders (not just DIG orders) to indicate a non-unanimous vote.
So why a “supermajority” for a DIG order?
Read More…23 Apply for First At-Large Appellate Court Vacancy Under Governor Moore
The Administrative Office of the Courts today released the list of 8 judges and 15 attorneys who are applying for the at-large vacancy on the Appellate Court of Maryland created by the retirement of Judge Donald Beachley.
Read More…March 2026 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in two juvenile cases (to be argued this spring) and one criminal case (to be argued this fall).
Read More…
Maryland Appellate Blog 