Court of Special Appeals rejects attempt to make bank account ownership a black-and-white issue
Businesses often desire the certainty and predictability of rules expressed in stark, absolute terms. But as the Court of Special Appeals recently reminded us, some legal questions are not best answered with black‑and‑white tests, but instead must often sort out facts that appear in various shades of gray. In Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. v. Andrews, Sept. Term 2014, No. 935 (Oct. 1, 2015), the Court rejected a judgment creditor’s effort to garnish a bank account jointly owned by the judgment debtor and refused to adopt the per se rule urged by the creditor.
October 2015 Maryland Certiorari Grants
Yesterday’s conference of the Court of Appeals yielded five cert grants. The grants include two family law cases, plus environmental law, criminal sentencing, and proof of lead paint exposure. The full list is after the jump. Read More…
In Reversing Kulbicki v. State, How Did the U.S. Supreme Court Review the Record?
By Michael Wein
Last week, as noted by Blog Editor-in-Chief Steve Klepper, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a short four-page summary reversal of the Maryland Court of Appeals’ decision in Kulbicki v. State. The reversal followed three relists for the case at the end of the last term, a circumstance I covered in a post in June. Both posts noted a likelihood of some written decision being issued, either a summary reversal or an opinion regarding denial of certiorari.
Meet the Newest Applicants for the Court of Special Appeals
As indicated in the applicants list posted on the Maryland Judicial Vacancies website yesterday, more than 25 candidates have lined up to jockey for Judge Zarnoch’s seat on the Court of Special Appeals. As to be expected, there is remarkable variety in the group, from current sitting judges to esteemed public servants to distinguished private practitioners to versatile legal minds who have done a bit of it all. Below is the lineup with the applicants’ web pages and current gigs; from what we could briefly scrape off those pages – which is obviously limited by the availability of public bios and the information on them – we also cobbled some numbers to demonstrate the diversity of experience among this round of bench-seekers.
Public Defender Responds to Cell-Site Info Petition for Rehearing
Back in August, Jonathan Biran posted on this blog regarding the Fourth Circuit’s split decision in United States v. Graham on warrantless requests for cell-site location information. The Government proceeded to petition for en banc rehearing (petition available here) last month, and the Fourth Circuit ordered a response. Read More…
Supreme Court Summarily Reverses Maryland Court of Appeals in Kulbicki
By Steve Klepper (Twitter: @MDAppeal)
Today the Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam ruling summarily reversing the four-to-three Court of Appeals decision in Kulbicki v. State, 440 Md. 33 (2014). Interestingly, the Supreme Court never issued an order calling up the state court record (see, for instance, the docket in Martinez v. Illinois) – even though Maryland is not a state where the record is available online.
It took the Supreme Court just 4½ pages to unanimously reverse. Read More…
Maryland Court of Appeals Aims To Take Fewer Cases, But Petitioners’ Success Rates Stay the Same
The Daily Record recently reported Chief Judge Barbera’s plans to reduce the number of cases that the Maryland Court of Appeals hears each term. According to the article, the Court will hear an average of 88 cases per year, a significant reduction from the Court of Appeals’ historic average of more than 100 cases per year. For example, in its 2011-13 terms, the Court docketed 133, 105, and 119 appeals, respectively. Table CA-3 of Maryland Judiciary Annual Statistical Abstract Fiscal Year 2014 (“2014 Abstract”).
September 2015 Maryland Certiorari Grants
The Court of Appeals website has posted certiorari grants from its September 17 conference, to go with an unscheduled September 3 grant we previously covered. The first grant, which is of great interest to (at least one of) our Annapolis readers, raises an important public policy question: Will downtown Annapolis get a Chipotle? The full two-case list is after the jump. Read More…
Maryland High Court Grants Rapid Review of Underage Drinking Liability
By Steve Klepper (Twitter: @MDAppeal)
Update (9/8/2015): I have since learned that the grant in Davis v. Stapf was not an “own motion” grant. Rather, before the Court of Special Appeals filed its opinion, the plaintiff filed a petition asking the Court of Appeals to consider Davis v. Stapf along with a similar case (Manal Kiriakos v. Brandon Phillips, Case No. 20, September Term, 2015) where certiorari was granted in March. Still, it remains interesting that the Davis v. Stapf opinion prompted the Court of Appeals to grant certiorari outside of its normal conference schedule.
Yesterday saw unusual and fast action by the Court of Appeals of Maryland in a major case on liability for serving alcohol to minors. In an August 26 opinion in Davis v. Stapf, the Court of Special Appeals ruled against the estate of a 17-year-old passenger killed in an auto accident following a party. The decedent, who riding in the bed of a pickup truck, and the 22-year-old driver were both intoxicated. The panel majority (in an opinion by Judge Graeff and joined by Chief Judge Krauser) found that the party’s host, who served the minor alcohol in violation of Criminal Law § 10-117(b), owed no statutory duty of care to the minor that could result in tort liability. Judge Nazarian concurred, believing that the fact the minor was not the driver cut the chain of causation.
Yesterday, just eight days after the CSA’s opinion, the Court of Appeals of Maryland issued a single grant of certiorari, outside its normal schedule: Read More…
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