Marylanders should be proud of their court. But we have honest people trying to make the best calls they can. Our lawyers get frustrated with the court because it is sometimes stuck in the 19th century. But they are never personal attacks on the majority opinion. Supreme Court where political affiliation tells you almost everything about how a justice will vote. Governors Ehrlich, O'Malley and Hogan all seemed to set party affiliation aside and reach to select the most qualified judge.

Maryland Court of Appeals judges have traditionally (and remarkably) been very nonpartisan, nonpolitical judges. Marylanders smartly defer to the governor and confirm appellate judges.įour of the judges were nominated by a Republican governor three were nominated by a Democratic governor. This is the current makeup of the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2020:īrynja McDivitt Booth, Jonathan Biran, and Mary Ellen Barbera are all on the ballot in November 2020 because we have a antiquated system where voters confirm nominated judges. This high court has exclusive jurisdiction over death penalty appeals (a thing of the past), lawsuits involving redistricting/gerrymandering, issuing advisory opinions to federal courts, and the removal of elected officials. A court must insist upon the maintenance of the integrity of the Bar and to prevent the transgressions of an individual lawyer from bringing its image into disrepute. The Maryland Court of Appeals also supervises the exercise of the disciplinary and reinstatement powers of the local courts, as the Court of Appeals has original and complete jurisdiction over attorney discipline matters. The most notable example of this is Maryland Rules which sets forth the rules of practice and procedure for Maryland state courts. But it is rare.Īnother important function of the Maryland Court of Appeals is that the court may adopt rules of judicial administration, practice, and procedure that have the force of law. Occasionally, a the court will snag an appeal from Circuit Court and bypass the intermediate appellate court. If the court does not believe there is an issue that needs to be given further consideration or analysis, it will deny certiorari and refuse to hear the case.Ī petition for writ of certiorari filed in the Maryland Court of Appeals seeking the court to overrule a decision of the Court of Special Appeals must be submitted no later than 15 days from the date of the order of the Court of Special Appeals. In other words, it only considers cases that it believes have issues that are worth addressing. Maryland's highest court hears cases almost exclusively by way of certiorari, a discretionary review process. The court's origins go back to 1694 when royal governor Francis Nicholson first established the Court of Appeals, our state's “supreme court.” Technically, the name of the court is the Court of Appeals of Maryland, but it is typically referred to as the Maryland Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, the highest court in the State of Maryland, was created by the Maryland Constitution of 1776.

Maryland judiciary com