December 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grant

On December 18th, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in one civil appeal and also added an election law direct appeal to its February argument calendar. The certiorari grant and information related to the election appeal is below.

Town of Bel Air, Maryland, et al. v. Barton Bodt, et al.  – Case No. 27, September Term, 2023

Issues – Local Government – 1) Does the Express Powers Act, Md. Code § 5-213 of the Local Government Article, require a municipality to adopt an ordinance, rather than a resolution, when the municipality denies a petition for referendum for failure to comply with the requirements of the municipal charter? 2) Does Gray v. Howard County Bd. Of Elections, 218 Md.App. 654 (2014) control the procedure for a municipality’s denial of a referendum petition? 3) Are organizers of a petition for referendum prohibited from altering the language of a petition after they have obtained signatures in support of the petition? 4) Where a municipal charter is silent regarding whether a petition for referendum may challenge only part of an ordinance, must a petition for referendum challenge the entire ordinance?

No. 26 Derek Harvey, et al. v. Jared DeMarinis, in his official capacity as the State Administrator of Elections, et al.

There is no intermediate appellate opinion, since it’s a direct appeal as of right, but more information on this appeal can be found here.