July 2026 Maryland Certiorari Grants

The Supreme Court of Maryland today granted review in two criminal appeals and four civil appeals.

Five of these six certiorari grants are from unreported Appellate Court opinions. Looking ahead to how the upcoming 2026 Term is shaping up, there are eighteen cases on the Court’s regular docket for argument. Twelve are from unreported Appellate Court opinions. Only three are from reported Appellate Court opinions, with the remaining three appeals involving direct review of circuit court opinions.

Mary Lou Dell v. James E. Clarke, et al. – No. 12, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Nazarian)
Issue – Real Property – Does a party to a foreclosure action who elects not to pursue a permitted interlocutory appeal from an order denying a motion to stay a foreclosure sale forfeit appellate review of that order on a later appeal from the final judgment ratifying the sale?

Vivian Cheung v. Howard Hughes Medical Institute – No. 13, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Getty)
Issue – Civil Procedure – Was it an abuse of discretion under Rule 2-341, directing that “[a]mendments shall be freely allowed when justice so permits,” to deny leave to reassert previously dismissed counts when discovery revealed new evidence supporting those counts?

Harford County, Maryland v. Aaron Penman – No. 14, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Geller)
Issue – Local Government – Is Respondent, a sheriff’s deputy, disqualified by Charter § 207 from simultaneously holding office as a County Councilmember and a deputy because Respondent’s employment as a deputy is employment by the government of the State of Maryland?

State of Maryland v. John William Smith, Jr. – No. 15, September Term, 2026 (Reported ACM Opinion by Judge Stephen Kehoe)
Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Under New York v. Hill, 528 U.S. 110 (2000), does defense counsel’s active participation in selecting a trial date outside the Interstate Agreement on Detainers’ 180-day period constitute a waiver of the statutory time limits? 2) Does the IAD require an open-court good cause finding or verbatim contemporaneous recording of a scheduling discussion as a prerequisite to finding waiver, even when the State proffers and the defense concedes that the parties and court jointly selected a trial date beyond the 180-day period?

Jeffrey Jacobson, et al. v. Henry Porter, et al. – No. 16, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Reed)
Issues – Corporations & Associations – From the petition: Whether, consistent with Rule 8-131(a), an appellate court can order a remand based on a legal theory that was not raised, argued or preserved in the trial court. From the cross-petition: 1) Do managing members of an LLC owe a duty of candor to another managing member when convening a board meeting to vote on that member’s removal? 2) Is a managing member harmed when co-managers deceive him about the purpose of a removal meeting, depriving him of the ability to prepare a defense or protect his ownership interest? 3) Does the entire-fairness standard apply to conflicted transactions by managing members of an LLC absent an express provision in the operating agreement, and if so, was it satisfied here? 4) Did the lower courts misapply the doctrine of unclean hands as a basis for denying equitable relief?

Duane Garlitz v. State of Maryland – No. 17, September Term, 2026 (Unreported ACM Opinion by Judge Tang)
Issue – Criminal Law – Can a reasonable probability of tampering be negated in order to authenticate evidence pursuant to Maryland Rule 5-901 where a controlled purchase involves a confidential informant, who is subsequently unavailable to testify and whose transaction cannot be corroborated by police?