Maryland Appellate Court Opinions

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href="/education#constitution">Constitution Day</a></li></ul></li> </ul> </div> </div> </header> <div class="region region-highlighted"> <div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div> <div id="block-banner-block-32" class="block block-block-content block-block-contentb9f23009-2e97-40a8-9b21-10ed6c0f08cd"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="banner"> <ul class="contact"> <li>Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building</li> <li>361 Rowe Boulevard</li> <li>Annapolis, MD 21401</li> <li>Supreme Court of Maryland: 410-260-1500 • 800-926-2583 • TTY 410-260-1554</li> <li>Appellate Court of Maryland: 410-260-1450</li> </ul> <h2>Appellate Courts</h2> <h3>Supreme Court of Maryland<br> Appellate Court of Maryland</h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> <main role="main"> <a id="main-content" tabindex="-1"></a> <div class="layout-content"> <div class="region region-content"> <div id="block-pagetitle" class="block block-core block-page-title-block"> <h1 class="page-title"><span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Maryland Appellate Court Opinions </span> </h1> </div> <div id="block-mdjudiciary-content" class="block block-system block-system-main-block"> <article data-history-node-id="3508181" about="/opinions/opinions" typeof="schema:WebPage" class="node node--type-page node--view-mode-full"> <span property="schema:name" content="Maryland Appellate Court Opinions " class="rdf-meta hidden"></span> <div class="node__content"> <div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><style type="text/css">table {margin: 0px;} .search table { margin: 0; border: none; } .search table td { padding: 0px 3px; } .search table tr { padding: 5px; background-color: transparent; } td.gsib_a { padding: 5px 9px 4px 9px; } .search { padding: 5px; float: left; width: 40%; } .gscb_a { line-height: normal; font-size: 18px; } .gsc-input { font-size: 14px; } </style>   <p>Effective December 14, 2022, the former Court of Appeals of Maryland is renamed the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Court of Special Appeals is renamed the Appellate Court of Maryland. This is a change in name only and does not affect the precedential value of the opinions of the two courts issued before the effective date of the name change.</p> <p>Only the reported opinions of the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Appellate Court of Maryland are posted on this page. <a href="/appellate/unreportedopinions" alt="Maryland Unreported Opinions webpage">Unreported opinions are posted here</a>.</p> <p>For reported opinions posted here on or before June 30, 2018, the final official text of the reported opinion is found in the bound Maryland Reports and Maryland Appellate Reports.</p> <p>Pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act, §§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article, the opinions and orders posted on this webpage on or after July 1, 2018 are the official and authentic versions of the text of Appellate Court opinions and orders.</p> <p>When they are initially posted on this webpage, the reported opinions of the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Appellate Court of Maryland are listed in the index as slip opinions (“slip op.”) until they are published in a bound volume of the Maryland Reports or Maryland Appellate Reports. Slip opinions are subject to change. If changes are made to an opinion filed on or after November 1, 2019, a note will be made in the index indicating the date of the most recent correction(s) (“corr.”). If you wish to see a copy of the correction notice(s), you may do so by scrolling to the end of the opinion and accessing the link, or by requesting a copy from the appropriate clerk’s office .</p> <p>If an opinion cites a slip opinion (“Slip op. at ___ ”) or has a provisional citation (“ _____ Md. ______”), the citation will be updated when the cited case is no longer a slip opinion. “Slip op. at ____” will become “Op. at ______”. “_____ Md. _____” will have the page and volume number from the bound volume added. No other changes will be made to the opinions unless noted.</p> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> <form action="/cgi-bin/indexlist.pl" aria-label="Court OpinionsLabel" name="indexes" role="radiogroup"> <div style="float:left; margin-right:5px; border:solid 2px #000; padding:5px; width:35%;"> <p><strong>COURT</strong></p> <input checked="checked" id="court3" name="court" title="Both Appellate Courts" type="radio" value="both" /> <label for="court3"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">Both Appellate Courts</span></label><br /> <input id="court1" name="court" title="Supreme Court" type="radio" value="coa" /> <label for="court1"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">Supreme Court (formerly the Court of Appeals)</span></label><br /> <input id="court2" name="court" title="Appellate Court" type="radio" value="cosa" /> <label for="court2"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">Appellate Court (formerly the Court of Special Appeals)</span></label><br /> <br /> </div> <div style="float:left; margin-right:5px; border:solid 2px #000; width:18%; padding:5px;"> <p><strong>FILING YEAR</strong></p> <div style="float:left; margin-right:10px;"> <input id="year32" name="year" title="ALL" type="radio" value="all" /> <label for="year32"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">ALL</span></label> <br /><input checked="checked" id="year31" name="year" title="2025" type="radio" value="2025" /> <label for="year31"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2025</span></label><br /> <input id="year30" name="year" title="2024" type="radio" value="2024" /> <label for="year30"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2024</span></label><br /> <input id="year29" name="year" title="2023" type="radio" value="2023" /> <label for="year29"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2023</span></label><br /> <input id="year28" name="year" title="2022" type="radio" value="2022" /> <label for="year28"><span style="font-weight:bold; 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style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2016</span></label><br /> <input id="year21" name="year" title="2015" type="radio" value="2015" /> <label for="year21"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2015</span></label><br /> <input id="year20" name="year" title="2014" type="radio" value="2014" /> <label for="year20"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2014</span></label><br /> <input id="year19" name="year" title="2013" type="radio" value="2013" /> <label for="year19"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2013</span></label><br /> <input id="year18" name="year" title="2012" type="radio" value="2012" /> <label for="year18"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2012</span></label><br /> <input id="year17" name="year" title="2011" type="radio" value="2011" /> <label for="year17"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2011</span></label> </div> <div style="float:left;"> <input id="year16" name="year" title="2010" type="radio" value="2010" /> <label for="year16"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2010</span></label><br /> <input id="year15" name="year" title="2009" type="radio" value="2009" /> <label for="year15"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2009</span></label><br /> <input id="year14" name="year" title="2008" type="radio" value="2008" /> <label for="year14"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2008</span></label><br /> <input id="year13" name="year" title="2007" type="radio" value="2007" /> <label for="year13"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2007</span></label><br /> <input id="year12" name="year" title="2006" type="radio" value="2006" /> <label for="year12"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2006</span></label><br /> <input id="year11" name="year" title="2005" type="radio" value="2005" /> <label for="year11"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2005</span></label><br /> <input id="year10" name="year" title="2004" type="radio" value="2004" /> <label for="year10"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2004</span></label><br /> <input id="year9" name="year" title="2003" type="radio" value="2003" /> <label for="year9"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2003</span></label><br /> <input id="year8" name="year" title="2002" type="radio" value="2002" /> <label for="year8"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2002</span></label><br /> <input id="year7" name="year" title="2001" type="radio" value="2001" /> <label for="year7"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2001</span></label><br /> <input id="year6" name="year" title="2000" type="radio" value="2000" /> <label for="year6"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">2000</span></label><br /> <input id="year5" name="year" title="1999" type="radio" value="1999" /> <label for="year5"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">1999</span></label><br /> <input id="year4" name="year" title="1998" type="radio" value="1998" /> <label for="year4"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">1998</span></label><br /> <input id="year3" name="year" title="1997" type="radio" value="1997" /> <label for="year3"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">1997</span></label><br /> <input id="year2" name="year" title="1996" type="radio" value="1996" /> <label for="year2"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">1996</span></label><br /> <input id="year1" name="year" title="1995" type="radio" value="1995" /> <label for="year1"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">1995</span></label><br /> </div> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> <span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">Please note that the "ALL" years option takes more time</span></div> <div style="float:left; border:solid 2px #000; padding:5px; width:25%;"> <p><strong>SORTING ORDER</strong></p> <input checked="checked" id="order4" name="order" title="by date opinion is filed by Court" type="radio" value="bydate" /> <label for="order4"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">by date opinion is filed by court</span></label><br /> <input id="order1" name="order" title="by case docket number/term" type="radio" value="bycase" /> <label for="order1"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">by case docket number/term</span></label><br /> <input id="order2" name="order" title="by official case citation" type="radio" value="bycite" /> <label for="order2"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">by official case citation</span></label><br /> <input id="order5" name="order" title="by judge" type="radio" value="byjudge" /> <label for="order5"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">by judge</span></label><br /> <input id="order3" name="order" title="by appellant's (or 1st party's) name" type="radio" value="bytitle" /> <label for="order3"><span style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px;">by appellant's (or first party's) name</span></label></div> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> <div style="margin-left:250px; margin-top:10px;"><input alt="submit" name="submit" title="submit" type="submit" value="Submit" /></div> </form> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> <p style="margin-top:10px;">To search for court opinions by word, name, etc., use the following form:</p>  <div class="search"><script async src="https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=a2eedb80187ee4471"></script> <div class="gcse-searchbox-only" data-gname="reportedsearch" data-newwindow="false" data-resultsurl="/search/reportedopinions"> </div> </div> <p> </p></div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="layout-sidebar-first" role="complementary"> <div class="region region-sidebar-first"> <div id="block-imported-block-30" class="block block-block-content block-block-content09c7e84c-fc4a-4c8b-8e36-72dcc983d0e6"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><nav class="menu"> <div class="title"> <small>you are in:</small> <h6> Appellate Courts </h6> </div> <ul> <li> <a href="/coappeals">Supreme Court of Maryland</a> </li> <li> <a href="/acm">Appellate Court of Maryland</a> </li> <li> <a href="/appellate/amicus"><em>Amicus Curiarum</em></a> </li> <li> <a href="/sites/default/files/import/appellate/pdfs/camerainappellatecourtroomprocedure.pdf">Cameras in the Courtrooms - Procedure</a> </li> <li> <a href="/appellate/directions">Directions to the Court</a> </li> <li> <a href="/appellate/feeschedule">Fee Schedule</a> </li> <li> <a href="/appellate/clerkships">Law Clerk Information</a> </li> <li> <a href="/opinions/opinions">Opinions - Reported</a> </li> <li> <a href="/appellate/unreportedopinions">Opinions - Unreported</a> </li> </ul> </nav></div> </div> </div> </aside> </main> </div> <footer role="contentinfo"> <div class="region region-footer"> <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-mainnavigation-menu" id="block-mainnavigation" class="superfooter-menu block block-menu navigation menu--main"> <h2 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