PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
September Term, 2025
Granted July 17, 2026
Mary Lou Dell v. James E. Clarke, et al. – No. 12, September Term, 2026
Issue – Real Property – Does a party to a foreclosure action who elects not to pursue a permitted interlocutory appeal from an order denying a motion to stay a foreclosure sale forfeit appellate review of that order on a later appeal from the final judgment ratifying the sale?
Vivian Cheung v. Howard Hughes Medical Institute - No. 13, September Term, 2026
Issue – Civil Procedure – Was it an abuse of discretion under Rule 2-341, directing that “[a]mendments shall be freely allowed when justice so permits,” to deny leave to reassert previously dismissed counts when discovery revealed new evidence supporting those counts?
Harford County, Maryland v. Aaron Penman - No. 14, September Term, 2026
Issue – Local Government – Is Respondent, a sheriff’s deputy, disqualified by Charter § 207 from simultaneously holding office as a County Councilmember and a deputy because Respondent’s employment as a deputy is employment by the government of the State of Maryland?
State of Maryland v. John William Smith, Jr. - No. 15, September Term, 2026
Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Under New York v. Hill, 528 U.S. 110 (2000), does defense counsel’s active participation in selecting a trial date outside the Interstate Agreement on Detainers’ 180-day period constitute a waiver of the statutory time limits? 2) Does the IAD require an open-court good cause finding or verbatim contemporaneous recording of a scheduling discussion as a prerequisite to finding waiver, even when the State proffers and the defense concedes that the parties and court jointly selected a trial date beyond the 180-day period?
Jeffrey Jacobson, et al. v. Henry Porter, et al. - No. 16, September Term, 2026
Issues – Corporations & Associations – From the petition: Whether, consistent with Rule 8-131(a), an appellate court can order a remand based on a legal theory that was not raised, argued or preserved in the trial court. From the cross-petition: 1) Do managing members of an LLC owe a duty of candor to another managing member when convening a board meeting to vote on that member’s removal? 2) Is a managing member harmed when co-managers deceive him about the purpose of a removal meeting, depriving him of the ability to prepare a defense or protect his ownership interest? 3) Does the entire-fairness standard apply to conflicted transactions by managing members of an LLC absent an express provision in the operating agreement, and if so, was it satisfied here? 4) Did the lower courts misapply the doctrine of unclean hands as a basis for denying equitable relief?
Duane Garlitz v. State of Maryland - No. 17, September Term, 2026
Issue – Criminal Law – Can a reasonable probability of tampering be negated in order to authenticate evidence pursuant to Maryland Rule 5-901 where a controlled purchase involves a confidential informant, who is subsequently unavailable to testify and whose transaction cannot be corroborated by police?