Cases Pending Before The Supreme Court

NOTE: Cases are added to this table when they are taken up by the Court. Note that oral argument dates may change at any time. After oral arguments, a link to the archived video recording is added. Cases are removed when the mandate issues (or, for attorney disciplinary matters, approximately 30 days after the opinion was filed).

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Case No.YearPetitionerRespondentCert. GrantedOral ArgumentsOpinion FiledIssues
024
2022FooksState2022-11-182023-03-02
[Oral Arguments]
2023-08-15
[PC Order]
Constitutional Law – 1) In view of existing Supreme Court precedent in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and McDonald v. City of Chicago, Ill., 561 U.S. 742 (2010), and in light of the Supreme Court’s recent interim decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, No. 20-843, 597 U.S. --- (June 23, 2022), what is the proper analytical framework to apply to constitutional challenges to Maryland’s firearms laws? 2) Did CSA fail to apply the proper analytical framework to the constitutional challenges in this case? 3) Is Md. Code § 5-133(b)(2) of the Public Safety Article unconstitutional, or unconstitutional as applied to this case?

Court of Special Appeals, No. 269, Sept. Term, 2021 [Opinion]
035
2023FrederickBalt. City Bd. of Elections  2024-08-28
[Oral Arguments]
2024-08-29
[PC Order]
Direct appeal under Maryland Election Law.

No. C-24-CV-24-001361, Circuit Court for Baltimore City
034
2023Bd. of ElectionsMayor & City Cnc. of Balt. 2024-08-28
[Oral Arguments]
2024-08-29
[PC Order]
Direct appeal under Maryland Election Law.

No. C-24-CV-24-001320, Circuit Court for Baltimore City
001
2024SM Landover LLC

SM Parkside LLC
Sanders



Lindsey
2024-02-162024-09-05
[Oral Arguments]
 Real Property – 1) When does a cause of action accrue under the Disclosure Act, Md. Code, Real Prop. Art. (“RP”) § 14-117(a)(3)(i), for failing to include in the initial contract of sale statutory disclosures relating to deferred water and sewer charges? 2) Is a person who is a “home builder” under Md. Code, Business Regulations Art. (“BR”) §4.5-101 relieved of their duty to register as a “home builder” when a different registered home builder is a party to the same contract? 3) Can the unregistered home builder, acting as the seller, of a new home enforce the sales contract against the purchaser where another party, here the builder of the home, who is a registered home builder is also a party to the sale contract?

Appellate Court of Maryland, Nos. 1876 & 1880, Sept. Term, 2021 (unreported)
002
2024Caruso Builder Belle OakSullivan2024-02-162024-09-05
[Oral Arguments]
 Real Property - When does a cause of action accrue under the Disclosure Act, Md. Code, Real Prop. Art. § 14-117(a)(3)(i), for failing to include in the initial contract of sale statutory disclosures relating to deferred water and sewer charges?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 153, Sept. Term, 2022 (unreported)
003
2024LedfordJenway Contracting2024-03-252024-09-05
[Oral Arguments]
 Labor & Employment – Did ACM err by extending the exclusivity provision of § 9-509 of the Labor & Employment Article (workers’ compensation) to non-dependents?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1755, Sept. Term, 2022, [Opinion]
050 Misc.
2023Application of O.A.S. for Admission to the Bar 2024-05-282024-09-09
[Oral Arguments]
 In the Matter of the Application of O.A.S. for Admission to the Bar of Maryland
 
005
2024HollinsState2024-04-182024-09-09
[Oral Arguments]
 Criminal Law – 1) Did the ACM erroneously apply a sufficiency of the evidence standard instead of the “some evidence” standard when it upheld the denial of Petitioner’s request for a non-pattern jury instruction regarding the alleged victim’s propensity for violence? 2) Did the trial court violate the Confrontation Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it prohibited Petitioner from cross-examining the alleged victim about visible injuries to rebut the claim raised on direct examination that the victim had outgrown any violence in his past?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 2023, Sept. Term, 2022 (unreported)
007
2024AkersState2024-05-282024-09-09
[Oral Arguments]
 Criminal Law – Is evidence of a pregnant woman’s forgoing prenatal care or evidence of a pregnant woman’s conducting Internet searches about terminating the pregnancy relevant as a matter of law to show the woman’s intent to kill the newborn at birth, or if marginally relevant, unfairly prejudicial?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 925, Sept. Term, 2022 (unreported)
002 Misc.
2024Key SchoolBunker 2024-09-10
[Oral Arguments]

Please note: This case was consolidated for the purpose of oral arguments on the Constitutionality question with No. 10, below.
 Certified Question of Law from the US District Court for the District of Maryland: 

Does the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, 2023 Md. Laws ch. 5 (S.B. 686), (codified at Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117), constitute an impermissible abrogation of a vested right in violation of Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and/or Article III, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution?
010
2024Bd. of EducationDoe2024-05-282024-09-10
[Oral Arguments - Constitutionality]
[Oral Arguments - Standing]

Please note: This case was consolidated for the purpose of oral arguments on the Constitutionality question with Misc No. 2, above. The Standing question was argued separately.
 Courts & Judicial Proceedings – 1) Does the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, 2023 Md. Laws Ch. 5 (S.B. 686) (codified at Md. Code Ann. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117)(the “MCVA”), constitute an impermissible abrogation of a vested right in violation of Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and/or Article III, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution? 
2) As a subdivision of the State, see Bd. Of Educ. v. Sec’y of Personnel, 317 Md. 34, 44-45 (1989), does the petitioner have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the MCVA?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 107, Sept. Term, 2024 (pending)
009
2024Archbishop of WashingtonDoe2024-05-282024-09-10
[Oral Arguments]
 Courts & Judicial Proceedings – Does the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, 2023 Md. Laws Ch. 5 (S.B. 686) (codified at Md. Code Ann. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117), constitute an impermissible abrogation of a vested right in violation of Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and/or Article III, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 107, Sept. Term, 2024 (pending)
008
2024In re: M.Z. 2024-05-282024-10-01
[Oral Arguments]

 
 Family Law – When a court terminates jurisdiction in a CINA case over the objection of a parent, is the parent “aggrieved” by that court’s unfavorable judgment such that the parent is entitled to appeal?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1412, Sept. Term, 2023 (unreported)
014
2024ZukowskiAnne Arundel Cty.2024-06-172024-10-01
[Oral Arguments]
 Workers’ Compensation – Did the General Assembly intend to offset compensation or benefits to be paid directly to claimants when it adopted Md. Code, Labor & Employment Art. § 9-610?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1121, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
011
2024WaltonPremier Soccer Club2024-05-312024-10-02
[Oral Arguments]

The oral arguments in this matter were held at Frederick Douglass High School, Northwestern Campus, in Baltimore, Maryland.
 Tort – Did ACM properly affirm the trial court’s ruling that a violation of Md. Code Health General Article § 14-501 (concussion policy and awareness) could not be the proximate cause of a concussion injury as a matter of law notwithstanding that the injured person was within the class of persons – youth athletes – that the statute was intended to protect and the injury was the type of injury the statue was designed to prevent?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1691, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
004
2024StateScarboro2024-03-252024-10-02
[Oral Arguments]

The oral arguments in this matter were held at Frederick Douglass High School, Northwestern Campus, in Baltimore, Maryland. 
2024-10-04
[PC Order]
Constitutional Law – When an appellant claims a Sixth Amendment violation of the right to a public trial based on the trial court’s ostensible denial of courtroom access, does the burden lie with appellant to establish preliminarily that the courtroom closure is significant enough (i.e. not “de minimis”) that it implicates the constitutional right and requires analysis under the four-part test articulated in Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 48 (1984)?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1646, Sept. Term, 2022 (unreported)
042 AG
2023Attorney Grievance Comm'nYeatman 2024-10-07
[Oral Arguments]
 Attorney disciplinary matter.
015
2024In re: Estate of Schappell 2024-06-172024-10-07
[Oral Arguments]
 Estates & Trusts – Did ACM err by rejecting Maryland’s longstanding requirement of an agreement to adopt as an element of equitable adoption, instead replacing it with a case-by-case examination of “fairness” factors?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 2048, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
016
2024In the Matter of Isely 2024-06-172024-10-08
[Oral Arguments]
 Family Law – Does the reach of Federal preemption extend such that a former spouse is without rights to enforce a contract related to already distributed retirement proceeds from a federal Thrift Savings Plan; or does Maryland follow the reasoning and interpretation set forth in Andochick v. Byrd, 709 F.3d 296 (4th Cir. 2013), allowing a former spouse to enforce a contract right regarding already distributed retirement proceeds to effectuate the intention of the parties?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 490, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
26
2024State Bd. of ElectionsAmbridge 2024-10-09 (1:00 p.m.)
[Oral Arguments]
2024-10-10
[PC Order]
Direct appeal under Maryland Election Law.

No. C-02-CV-24-002246, Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County
023 AG
2023Attorney Grievance Comm'nPisner 2024-11-07 Attorney disciplinary matter.
12
2024Mayor & City Cncl. Of Balt.Wallace2024-05-312024-11-08 Natural Resources – 1) Did ACM err when it held that the Maryland Recreational Use Statute, Md. Code, Natural Resources § 5-1101, et seq., (“MRUS”) does not apply to paths in public parks, even where a local government has made the path available for recreational use? 2) Did ACM err when it held that Haley v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 211 Md. 269 (1956), applies to any path that may serve as a “public connector” between parts of the City, so that any such path in a public park is not subject to MRUS protections?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1644, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
13
2024NguyenState2024-06-172024-11-08 Criminal Law – Petition: 1) Does Maryland common law impose on police officers a general “duty to protect,” a breach of which is enforceable in a criminal prosecution for reckless endangerment or other crimes of omission, and if so, is the duty triggered when one suspect assaults another suspect in an officer’s presence? 2) If Petitioner had a “duty to protect”, was the testimony of other officers that they would have separated or stood between the two suspects legally sufficient to prove that Petitioner, by taking neither action, grossly departed from the standard of conduct that a reasonable, similarly situated police officer would have observed?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1495, Sept. Term, 2022
19
2024ZimmermanState2024-07-292024-11-08 Criminal Procedure – Whether further appellate review lies in either the Supreme Court of Maryland or the Appellate Court of Maryland from a circuit court’s order revoking probation when the circuit court’s order was entered in the exercise of appellate jurisdiction over a decision of the District Court of Maryland.

No. C-10-CR-23-000824, Circuit Court for Frederick County
3 Misc.
 
4 Misc.
2024Govt. Employees Ins. Co.MAO-MSO Recovery 2024-12-09 Certified Question of Law from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Whether the assignment of the right to seek and receive unpaid reimbursement of payments for expenses under 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(b)(3)(A) (2018) pursuant to a contingency compensation arrangement/agreement is void as against public policy of Maryland, and if so, whether such an arrangement/agreement is unenforceable regardless of any choice of law provision contained in such an agreement.
017
2024Petition of Featherfall Restoration 2024-06-172024-12-09 Insurance Law – 1) Does the standard insurance policy clause prohibiting assignment of “this policy” absent insurer consent prohibit the insured from assigning a post-loss claim benefit under the policy without its consent? 2) Did the lower courts err in affording deference to and affirming the ruling of law by the Maryland Insurance Administration (“MIA”) that anti-assignment clauses in property insurance policies preclude post-loss assignments of claims, instead of following this Court’s precedents upholding post-loss claim assignments in the face of anti-assignment clauses? 3) Did the lower courts err in affirming the MIA’s decision that Petitioner, as an assignee of insurance benefits from the insurer, was not a “claimant” or “aggrieved” with standing to challenge the insurer’s unfair claims settlement practices with respect to the claim assigned? 4) Should the trial court have issued a declaratory judgment that the assignment of claim benefits at issue did not violate the contractual provision that “assignment of this policy will not be valid unless we give our written consent” instead of deferring to the agency’s interpretation of Maryland contract law? (Note: The SCM granted a writ of cert only as to Petitioner’s questions 2, 4, 5, and 6.)

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1313, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
021
2024CoyleState2024-08-272024-12-09 Criminal Law – 1) When the Office of the Public Defender appointed counsel to Petitioner and approved of assigned counsel’s determination that a petition for writ of certiorari should be filed, was Petitioner entitled to the effective assistance of counsel in filing such a petition? 2) Must prejudice be presumed when, due to ineffective assistance of counsel, Petitioner was denied his right to file a petition for writ of certiorari and did the post-conviction court err in holding that he must establish that the petition would have been granted?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1440, Sept. Term, 2021 (unreported)
5 Misc.
2024WilleyBrown 2024-12-10 Certified Question of Law from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

1) What legal standard does the term "reasonable grounds" connote in Maryland's Red Flag Law, codified in Title Five of the Public Safety Article of the Maryland Annotated Code? 2) Does the statue permit an extreme risk protective order to issue upon a standard less than probable cause?
023
2024Comptroller of Md.Badlia Brothers2024-08-272024-12-10 State Government – Where the State has already satisfied its obligation to pay funds pursuant to a state-issued check, did the trial court err in concluding that the State has waived sovereign immunity against a claim by a holder in due course of that check who subsequently seeks to have the State pay that obligation a second time? 

No. 24-C-24-000440, Circuit Court for Baltimore City
20
2024SaundersGilman2024-08-12  Courts & Judicial Proceedings – 1) Did ACM err when it concluded that no exception to the final judgment rule applies and that it lacked appellate jurisdiction? 2) Does § 12-303(3)(v) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings article permit an immediate appeal from an order finding adverse possession of real property before a final judgment has been entered?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 463, Sept. Term, 2022 (dismissed)
022
2024Canton Harbor Healthcare Ctr.Robinson2024-08-27  Tort – 1) Can a registered nurse be a “qualified expert” to attest “that the departure from standards of care is the proximate cause of the alleged injury” as required by Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-2A-04(b)(1)(i), even though offering a medical diagnosis is outside the authorized scope of nursing practice in Maryland? 2) Can a registered nurse opine whether physicians wrongfully failed to prescribed medicines or undertake appropriate treatment plans? 3) Did ACM improperly rely on Federal regulations regarding Medicare/Medicaid funding of nursing facilities in determining the qualifications of a registered nurse to give a medical causation opinion?

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 2169, Sept. Term, 2022 [Opinion]
24
2024MontagueState2024-09-20  Issue – Criminal Procedure – May a trial court deny a person’s motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to the Juvenile Restoration Act, § 8-110 of the Criminal Procedure Article, solely or primarily because he maintained his innocence? 

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 409, Sept. Term, 2024 (unreported) 
25
2024In the Matter of Lewis 2024-09-20  Issues – County Codes – 1) Did ACM err in its interpretation and application of § 5-403 of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings (CJP) Article (immunities related to certain agricultural operations)? 2) Did ACM err in holding that there was substantial evidence in the record to support the Talbot County Agricultural Resolution Board’s decision finding that the long-term storage of materials on and application of materials to farmland is a generally accepted agricultural activity entitled to the rebuttable presumption of Talbot County Code Chapter 128 (the Right-to-Farm law) or CJP §5-403? 3) Did ACM err in applying Chapter 128 and CJP §5-403 when the court held the storage and application of materials did not substantially change the agricultural operation and did not amount to a waiver of protection under Chapter 128 and CJP §5-403? 

Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 951, Sept. Term, 2023 [Opinion]