MSBA to Hold Networking Event and Panel Discussion on Impact Decisions of Maryland’s Appellate Courts
On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, the Litigation Section Appellate Practice Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association will host a networking event, followed by a panel discussion on several impact decisions of the 2023 term. Panelists will include civil and criminal appellate practitioners.
The event will be held at the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal building in Annapolis and begins at 5:30 p.m. Panelists include:
- The Honorable J. Bradford McCullough,
Circuit Court for Montgomery County - Douglas Nivens, II, Esq.
Office of the Public Defender, Appellate Division - Rachel Marblestone-Kamins, Esq.
Office of the Public Defender, Appellate Division - Jer Welter, Esq.
Chief Criminal Appeals Division, Maryland Office of the Attorney General
For more information and to register, visit the MSBA website.
March 2024 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in two cases.
Read More…The History of Family Relations on the Maryland Appellate Courts
On February 8, 2024, Governor Wes Moore appointed the Honorable Stephen Kehoe to fill the vacancy that his older brother, the Honorable Christopher Kehoe, created when he took senior status in August of last year. This judicial family affair led me to wonder whether there were other familial relationships amongst the judges on the appellate courts.
After Google and Wikipedia proved only marginally helpful, I decided to consult the real expert of Maryland judicial history—Chief Justice Joseph M. Getty. Unlike the supposed all-knowing internet, Chief Justice Getty did not disappoint. He offered three examples of blood relatives that have served on the Court as well as two additional pairs of judges who were related by marriage. Those judges are discussed below, with my thanks to Chief Justice Getty for his kind assistance.
Read More…Whren, Whren, Go Away…: Could the Days of the “Pretextual Traffic Stop” Be Numbered?
By Tia L. Holmes[*]
The “pretextual traffic stop”[1] issue appears to be on the minds of more and more lawyers and judges these days. The issue stems from a policing practice that was approved by the United States Supreme Court in Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996).[2] For decades, critics have expressed concern that Whren distorted or largely ignored the Fourth Amendment jurisprudence that preceded it, gutted Fourth Amendment protections for drivers and passengers, and authorized racial profiling[3] on America’s roadways.[4] These days, it is common to find briefs, scholarly works, and dissenting opinions decrying the policing practice. Even during an oral argument, it is difficult to avoid a discussion about pretextual traffic stops when the circumstances of a traffic stop are at issue.
Last year, I authored a post discussing Judge Dan Friedman’s concurrence in Snyder v. State, 2023 WL 1497289 (Feb. 3, 2023), in which he expressed his view that “Whren was wrong when it was decided in 1996 and remains both wrong and dangerous today.” My dedication to this issue has revealed that Judge Friedman is not alone. He joins dissenting judges throughout the country who also are concerned about Whren’s ongoing effects.[5] But judges have not only dissented. At least two states have declared pretextual traffic stops unconstitutional and departed from Whren on state constitutional grounds.[6] So, what does this mean for Maryland?
Read More…December 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grant
On December 18th, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in one civil appeal and also added an election law direct appeal to its February argument calendar. The certiorari grant and information related to the election appeal is below.
Read More…November 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grants (part 2)
On November 29th, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in two additional cases, one criminal appeal and one civil appeal on bypass from the circuit court.
The two certiorari grants, with a link to the Appellate Court decision under review, are below.
Read More…Unreported Opinions Are Citable For First Time in Maryland on about 70% of Unreported Appellate Court of Maryland Decisions (and The World Did Not End)
By Michael Wein[*]
The Maryland Supreme Court approved a Rules Change (the specifics below), effective July 1, 2023, which for first time permits litigants to cite previous Appellate decisions for their “persuasive” value. These have generally been available online on the Maryland Judiciary’s website since May of 2015 and searchable since that time in the Maryland Daily Record, as well as Lexis and Westlaw. The proposed Rules presentation discussing this from February 2023 can be found on the Blog here.
Below is the final wording of Rule 1-104. (Without annotations)1
The Numbers in July, August, September, and October 2023 on Unreported Opinions Citable versus Per Curiam, Which Remain Uncitable
Beginning July 1, 2023, every unreported Opinion by the Appellate Court of Maryland (ACM) (formerly Maryland Court of Special Appeals), with the exception of per curiam decisions, states: “This is an unreported opinion. This opinion may not be cited as precedent within the rule of stare decisis. It may be cited for its persuasive value only if the citation conforms to Rule 1-104(a)(2)(B).”
Although the Maryland Supreme Court did not adopt all the recommendations of the Maryland Rules Committee, (again detailed below and a link to the zoom meeting here), there was a potential major exception to Rule 1-104 requested by the intermediate Appellate Court, and adopted by the Rules Committee, that still prohibits all citations to “Per Curiam” decisions. This was noted in the early blog piece, as a major potential loophole in the Rules proposal of it “Does not apply to Per Curiam Opinions in General (“Judge Per Curiam”).
Read More…October 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On October 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted certiorari in three criminal cases. The certiorari grants, with links to the Appellate Court of Maryland opinions under review, are below.
Read More…SCM to Posthumously Admit Lawyer Excluded Because of Race
Except to occasionally cheer on a relative or law clerk crossing the threshold into lawyerdom, there’s usually not much reason to pay attention to the bar-admission special sessions at the Maryland Supreme Court — but don’t ignore a unique and important one coming up Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 3 p.m. That’s when the high court will consider the posthumous admission of Edward Garrison Draper, who is the earliest known individual found qualified to join the Maryland bar but rejected because of his race.
The session is the culmination of an effort to recognize Mr. Draper’s accomplishments and the historical injustice of his exclusion from Maryland’s legal profession. That was prompted by a compelling and informative University of Baltimore Law Forum article last year by Justice John G. Browning, formerly of the state Fifth District Court of Appeals in Texas.
In response, the Supreme Court invited Justice Browning, along with attorney Dominique A. Flowers and University of Baltimore law professor José F. Anderson, to submit a petition requesting Mr. Draper’s posthumous admission to the bar. I’ll briefly summarize the account of Mr. Draper as taken from Justice Browning’s article and the application for admission:
Read More…September 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grants
On September 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted a number of Petitions involving issues related to criminal procedure, contract interpretation, choice of law, and statutory interpretation. The issues presented are as follows:
Read More…
Maryland Appellate Blog 