PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
September Term, 2025
Granted June 18, 2026
Charles Anderson v. State of Maryland – No. 7, September Term, 2026
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Did defense counsel’s objection preserve an exception to testimony that Baltimore City police have a “truth-telling” policy? 2) As a matter of first impression, does Spain v. State, 386 Md. 145 (2005), allow a detective to bolster police witness credibility by telling jurors there is a “departmental policy” requiring police to tell the truth, and that detectives are “subject to termination” if they lie?
Frederick Earl Elliott v. State of Maryland - No. 8, September Term, 2026
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) For purposes of determining whether a prospective juror should be excused for cause, does a rebuttable presumption of bias arise where the juror discloses during voir dire that she was the victim of a crime very similar to the crime charged in the case on trial? 2) Where Petitioner was charged with assaulting his wife and mother-in-law with a firearm, did the trial court abuse its discretion in refusing to excuse for cause a prospective juror who was the victim of a very similar act of domestic violence in a case then pending before the same trial judge? 3) Did ACM err in holding that Petitioner failed to preserve the argument that the trial court insufficiently questioned the prospective juror?
Jewel Crowder v. State of Maryland - No. 9, September Term, 2026
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Does the ACM’s holding in Logan v. State, 164 Md. App. 1 (2006), control whether the trial court must conduct voir dire on whether the venire has strong feelings on an anticipated defense or does the SCM’s later decision affirming Logan control? 2) When the only issue in a murder trial is the viability of a defense, must a court, on request, probe the venire’s bias against that defense? 3) In voir dire, are defenses ever a mandated area of inquiry? 4) Did the trial court err in refusing to ask the venire about strong feelings on deadly force in self-defense or defense of others?
Corenic Construction Group, LLC v. Single Point Construction, LLC - No. 10, September Term, 2026
Issues – Contracts – 1) Did ACM improperly interpret unambiguous contract terms to relieve Respondent of obligations it assented to, but subsequently changed its mind about or regretted? 2) Did ACM exceed its authority by sua sponte vacating a decision of the trial court that was not raised by either party on appeal or in its appeal briefing?
Denied/Dismissed May 26, 2026
The order denying or dismissing the petitions can be found here.
12405 Crain Holdings v. Prince George’s Cnty. Cncl. – Pet. No. 41 *
Brooks v. Queens Purchase – Pet. No. 485
Bynum, Louis Jarrard v. State – Pet. No. 68 *
DeBerry, Shaunesi v. State – Pet. No. 21 *
Ellerbe v. Meyer – Pet. No. 58 *
Evans v. Evans – Pet. No. 53 *
Gray, Cordeaire Davis v. Criminal Injuries Compensation Bd. – Pet. No. 114 *
Hargrove v. Jones – Pet. No. 44 *
Hinton v. Fraling – Pet. No. 62 *
In re: Estate of Parikh – Pet. No. 67 *
In the Matter of Janss – Pet. No. 40 *
Johannes v. Dept. of Planning & Zoning – Pet. No. 49 *
Johnson, Montaye v. State – Pet. No. 70 *
Lookabaugh, Matthew v. State – Pet. No. 30 *
McKnight v. Masonry – Pet. No. 54 *
Montgomery Cnty. v. Dennie – Pet. No. 50 *
Rummel v. Rummel – Pet. No. 37 *
Sikandar, Raza v. State – Pet. No. 115 *
Smedley v. Smedley – Pet. No. 42 *
Smith v. Brown, Savage, Britto, Stitely & Callahan, LP – Pet. No. 119 *
Tabassi v. Tabassi – Pet. No. 29 *
Tate v. Schifanelli – Pet. No. 51 *
Tyler v. Hewlett – Pet. No. 11 *
* September Term, 2026
Granted June 23, 2026
State of Maryland v. J.C. – No. 11, September Term, 2026
Issue – Torts –Where the Child Victims Act of 2023 expands only the “time for filing” a child sex abuse claim, does sovereign immunity continue to bar any such claim against the State that arose prior to July 1, 1982, the effective date of the Maryland Tort Claims Act’s limited sovereign immunity waiver?