June 2026 Maryland Certiorari Grants, Part 2

A few hours after the Supreme Court of Maryland’s opinion in Board of Education of Wicomico County v. Sturm, addressing local school boards’ sovereign immunity against claims under the Child Victims Act of 2023, the Court granted bypass review in a case addressing the State’s sovereign immunity.

The Court also scheduled a June 30 argument on a new election-law direct appeal, In the Matter of Frederick County Data Center Referendum Committee. Coverage of the circuit court order under review is available at WYPR.

The question presented for the new Child Victims Act certiorari grant is below:

State of Maryland v. J.C. – No. 11, September Term, 2026 (Bypass Review; Petition granted as to the petitioner’s first question only)
Issue – Torts –Where the Child Victims Act of 2023 expands only the “time for filing” a child sex abuse claim, does sovereign immunity continue to bar any such claim against the State that arose prior to July 1, 1982, the effective date of the Maryland Tort Claims Act’s limited sovereign immunity waiver?