By: Isabelle Raquin

Last week, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued the much-anticipated decision concerning appellate impartiality in Belton v. State, No. 8, September Term 2022.

Who knew that, when this case was appealed to the Appellate Court of Maryland on a single, straightforward question regarding hearsay and self-defense, and submitted on briefs, it would turn into a matter of first impression in the Supreme Court implicating the right to fair and impartial judges on appeal?