Jury trials have been postponed and other court proceedings throughout Maryland are once again moving to remote operations amidst a surge in COVID cases brought on by the Omicron variant.
Jury trials that were supposed to be held between Dec. 29, 2021 and Feb. 8, 2022 will be rescheduled. Maryland’s “Hicks Rule” will be waived until trials are able to resume. The rule requires that the state must bring a defendant to trial within 180 days of a defendant’s first appearance.
District and circuit courts will hear some cases “in-person,” but proceedings will be held remotely “to the greatest extent possible.”
The statute of limitations and rules deadlines for many court matters will be adjusted. An Ocean City criminal defense attorney can provide more details.
The Court of Appeals and the Court of Special Appeals are fully operational. However, remote proceedings may occur at the chief judge’s discretion.
Flexible work arrangements for court workers have been authorized.
The restricted judicial operations went into effect on Dec. 29.
Joseph M. Getty, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, announced the return to reduced operations on Dec. 28, putting the courts back into Phase III of a multi-step operational plan initially put into effect in 2020 because of the coronavirus.
The Baltimore federal courts have also moved to reduced operations. New federal jury trials and grand jury sessions have been postponed until Jan. 24, 2022. Ongoing federal trials are not being interrupted. The federal courts will be hearing criminal and civil cases remotely until Jan. 24.
State health officials recently reported thousands of new coronavirus cases, a spike in hospitalizations and an increase in the seven-day testing positivity rate to more than 16.5%.
Maronick Law, LLC is open during the pandemic and will continue to meet your Glen Burnie, Annapolis, Baltimore, Essex, Ocean City, Towson, White Marsh criminal defense lawyer needs. If you’ve facing criminal charges, you should talk to a defense attorney.
If you have access to Zoom, we can meet with you remotely. The consultation is free. You can contact Thomas Maronick on his cellphone at 202.288.0167, the law office at 410.402.5571 or via the website.