What Is a Majority Opinion?
By Michael Wein
After eagerly awaiting the outcome this summer on whether Maryland would retain contributory negligence, or adopt comparative negligence as exists in 46 other States, the Court of Appeals of Maryland on July 9, 2013, kept contributory negligence. What is less clear is an unusual procedural question arising from the Court’s decision in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia: Which opinion was the majority opinion? Read More…
Welcome to the Maryland Appellate Blog
Welcome to the Maryland Appellate Blog, sponsored by the MSBA Litigation Section. The blog fills a gap in Maryland legal commentary. In most states of equal or larger population, there are one or more blogs dedicated to appellate matters in the state. Typically, solo practitioners or small firms maintain those sites. The result can be that those blogs temporarily or permanently cease operation when the author hits a busy patch in his or her work. Such single-author blogs also can suffer from too narrow a focus or viewpoint.
The Maryland Appellate Blog seeks to improve on the state appellate blog model by featuring original content from a roster of contributors, plus guest authors. It is inspired by—but far less ambitious than—SCOTUSblog and The Volokh Conspiracy. The blog primarily covers the Court of Appeals, with ancillary coverage of the Court of Special Appeals, the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court.
Posts ordinarily will not consist of detailed case summaries, which are already available in other publications. Rather, blog content includes:
- certiorari petitions before the Court of Appeals;
- coverage of notable arguments;
- practice tips;
- commentary on the implications of specific rulings or general trends;
- interviews with appellate judges; and
- news, including committee programs.
The blog’s opening-day editorial roster consists of seven appellate practitioners. Read More…
Maryland Appellate Blog 