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.”

Alita Gaskill v. Shareef Lewis, et al. – No. 4, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Albright)
Issues – Torts – 1) Whether this Court should overrule Southern Management Corp. v. Taha, 378 Md. 461 (2003) and adopt the same standard in civil and criminal cases as set forth in the concurring opinion in Price v. State, 405 Md. 10 (2008) and in Givens v. State, 449 Md. 433 (2016) for determining whether an allegedly inconsistent verdict is preserved for appellate review. 2) Whether the Appellate Court of Maryland erred in holding that the jury’s verdict was irreconcilably inconsistent under the Maryland Tort Claims Act and that the circuit court abused its discretion in approving the verdict sheet that allowed that inconsistent verdict. 3) Whether the Appellate Court of Maryland erred in holding that the jury instruction regarding one’s right to disagree with a police officer based on Diehl v. State, 294 Md. 466 (1982) is an incorrect statement of law and is not applicable to this case challenging unlawful police conduct.

Andre Hammond v. State of Maryland – No. 5, September Term, 2026 (Reported ACM Opinion by Judge Stephen Kehoe)
Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) As a matter of first impression, can forgetting to register for the Maryland sex offender registry serve as a defense to a charge of “knowingly” failing to register under Criminal Procedure Article § 11-721(a) and, if so, under what circumstances? 2) Did the trial court err in convicting Petitioner of knowingly failing to register after finding as a fact that Petitioner forgot to register?

DARCARS Toyota of Silver Spring v. Katharine Blackwell – No. 6, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by J. Freidman)
Issue – Torts – Did the Appellate Court err in reversing the circuit court’s entry of summary judgment on the premises liability claim?