How Does the Maryland Court Of Special Appeals Work?

The Court Of Special Appeals is Maryland’s intermediate appellate court. It considers petitions from every case arising in the state’s Orphan’s Court or Circuit Court. In response to the increasing caseload at the Maryland Court of Appeals, the court was established in 1966. That year, a constitutional amendment required the Maryland General Assembly to constitute an intermediate Court.

The “special” in the court’s name is attributed to the fact that it was initially restricted to criminal cases. However, its authority has since been extended to a general jurisdiction appeals court.

The Court of Special Appeals comprises 15 active judges. Seven judges are chosen from all seven appellate judicial circuits, while the remaining judges are appointed from various parts of the state. The State Governor is responsible for selecting the Court of Special Appeals judges while the Senate House approves selected judgeship candidates. After ten years, every sitting Judge will have to run for a retention election by the electorate from the appointment time.

The Court’s Judges may remain in service until they are 70 years of age. However, senior judges, approved by the Court of Appeals can also hear cases and decide on them and the active judges.

Every case brought before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals is subject to the provisions of Title 20 of the state’s rules relating to electronic filing through the Maryland Electronic Courts. Once the appeals are thoroughly prepared, a panel of three judges will consider it.

For all court proceedings, the judges evaluate the submitted briefs and the documents produced in the trial court. In some instances, the court holds oral arguments, usually in the Robert C. Murphy Appellate Court, during one of the first eight working days. The panel members’ names are disclosed from about seven to ten days before the hearing date if an oral argument is slated.

In most instances, one of the three Judges appointed to the matter will present a written opinion and ruling on the case. A different opinion disagreeing or agreeing with the prevailing view may be given by the other judges. In exceptional circumstances, the whole Court judges will sit to examine a dispute.

All Opinions from the Special Appeals Court are conveyed in writing. A few are reported (this means that those opinions are recorded in the state’s Appellate Reporter’s bound volumes). They function as a standard, binding Maryland’s trial courts unless reversed by the Court of Appeals.

Unreported Opinions are only binding to only the involved parties of the appeal. Any individual (even if un-involved persons) may request that the court reports the originally unreported opinion. However, this can only be done before the time the court issues its mandate. All opinions can be found on the Maryland Courts website.

The Court of Special Appeals’ chief judge is the division’s constitutional head. To qualify for an appointment in the court, the individual must be a Maryland and a registered voter. Before the appointment time, the Judges must have lived in the state for a minimum of five years, and for six months (at least) in their respective appellate circuits from which they are chosen.

By appointment date, a Court of Special Appeals Judge must be at least thirty years old. Also, they must have been licensed to practice law in the state. Honesty, wisdom, and sound legal expertise are some of the qualities required of any Maryland Court appointee.

The Special Appeals Court possesses exclusive initial appeal jurisdiction on any appealable decision, ruling, order, or other action made in a circuit court or an orphan court unless otherwise stipulated by law. The only exception is an appeal in criminal matters where capital punishment is levied.

The Special Appeals Court also addresses petitions for leave to appeal In specific issues such as:

• Habeas corpus matters: Petitions to decide if an individual’s imprisonment was lawful) regarding Punitive or denial of bail
• Revocations of probation
• Post-conviction: This is an appeal for relief, accessible to individuals who were either convicted by a judge/jury or plead guilty to the charge.
• Prisoner complaints
• Convictions founded on guilty pleas

There are four steps for getting a Court of Special Appeals judge off the bench in the state. These are:

• The Governor meets with the Maryland General Assembly and seeks the consent of two-thirds of each house member.
• The general assembly can retire a special appeals judge if two-thirds of each house vote members vote in favor and the Governor consents.
• Judges can be dismissed if they get impeached by most voters in the House of delegates and get convicted by a two-thirds vote in the senate.
• A judge can be retired or removed from the court if the Commission on Judicial Disabilities suggests it.

The Court Of Special Appeals is assisted by the Maryland ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) division and the staff attorneys and Clerk’s Offices. The Court of Special Appeals sits in the same building as the state’s highest appellate court, located at:

The Robert C. Murphy Court Of Appeals Building
361 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: (410) 260–1450

Interested persons can visit the Odyssey Attorney Portal to view an electronically filed case. Requesters are required to register on the site. Once in the portal, users have access to view the records and docket entries themselves. To find the case, individuals can use either the search function or the case number. Public platforms also exist at the Court of Special Appeals premises and that of the State Law Library to enable interested persons to view case files.

Interested Individuals may obtain Special Appeals Court dockets by contacting the clerk’s office. The office is located on the second floor of the Courts of Appeal Building, at:

361 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410)260 1459
Email: greg.hilton@mdcourts.gov

Another alternative for requesters to access dockets from the court is through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search website. Users can select the court type and choose to search as a person or a company. To narrow the search, interested parties may choose the appropriate case type, county, court system, and filing date.