When Is an Appellate Rule Not a Rule?
Attorneys love rules. And our adversarial legal system functions best when both sides understand and follow common rules. So one Maryland appellate rule has always confounded me because it is routinely construed as meaning the opposite of what it apparently says. Rule 8-501(c) plainly states that the “record extract shall not include . . . any part of a memorandum of law in the trial court, unless it has independent relevance.” Most lawyers would reasonably construe this as telling practitioners to exclude their trial-court briefing from the record extract unless the brief itself had factual relevance—e.g., including a brief to show that an argument was not waived or that a party made inconsistent arguments.
But this is not how the Rule is read in Maryland. Former Maryland appellate clerks and even some Maryland appellate judges have repeatedly told me that if, for example, a party prevails on summary judgment or a motion to dismiss, the court and its clerks appreciate having the related briefing in the record extract. The Rule would indicate that the record extract should contain the exhibits to the relevant briefing without the briefs themselves. Apparently not.
Read More…Panel Splits on Stops for “Security Checks”
By: Chris Mincher
Police officers on the lookout for crime know that people with illegal things usually try to conceal them. If the object is big and bulky enough, sometimes that isn’t so easy. People who carry illicit items under their clothes might have to take some extra measures to make sure they stay there.
On the other hand, while concealing a firearm is typically a crime, generally shoving things into one’s pants is not. As such, Maryland courts have decided that mere adjustments and manipulations of the waistline don’t create a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity without some other indication that a gun is involved. But what if the police officer describes those adjustments and manipulations as specific “security checks” consistent with a potential concealed firearm? Does that pass muster for Fourth Amendment purposes?
Read More…January 2025 Maryland Certiorari Grants
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in five cases. (We’ve updated this post now that “Questions Presented” are publicly available for all five cases.)
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Maryland Appellate Blog 