Legal Resources

Gateway to Maryland Law

The Gateway to Maryland Law (Maryland State Law Library) provides online reference materials, including access to the Maryland Code and Maryland Rules of Procedure.

Maryland People's Law Library

Maryland's People's Law Library (PLL) is a legal information and self-help website maintained by the Maryland State Law Library, a Judiciary unit of the Maryland Judiciary, and supported by Maryland's non-profit legal services providers.

The PLL provides updated and easy-to-find information about legal issues that are on people’s minds, issues such as housing, family law and much more.

What is the Maryland Code?

All of the public, general and permanent laws passed by the Maryland State Legislature are subsequently organized by subject, continually updated and published in a multi-volume print set or online web version called a code. The various topics are arranged into broad segments called “articles” (currently there are around 30) and further subdivided into thousands of sections. An illustration of broad code topics covered in this primary source of legal authority range from agriculture to business regulation to corporations and associations to criminal law, environment, family law, insurance, public safety, tax, transportation, etc. The full text of the State Constitution is also included in this Code. Unannotated versions of the code are provided by the General Assembly, Lexis, and Westlaw.

What are the Maryland Rules of Procedure?

Procedural rules (also called court rules), which are adopted by our State’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Maryland, guide the litigant, who is usually represented by an attorney, on what to do and how to do it when bringing a legal dispute into one of Maryland’s courts. These rules, which have the force of law, and are mandatory, establish a uniform process for trying cases and ensure that justice is fairly administered. Within our State court system there are different sets of procedural rules governing various types of cases in no less than five different courts. For example, separate rules exist for civil, criminal, juvenile and appellate cases and dispute resolution mechanisms. The Maryland Rules are provided as a free service by Lexis and Westlaw.

Sailor: Maryland's Libraries

Sailor, a  project of Maryland Public Libraries, provides comprehensive links to a variety of subjects,including Maryland references to legal issues.

Self-Representation Resource Guide

The National Center for State Courts provides a wealth of up-to-date information on court related issues, including resources for self-help litigants.