Case Title: In re: M.P.

Citation: 

Docket Number: 3pc/23

State: maryland

Court: Maryland Supreme Court

Date: 2023-09-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT 
 
OF MARYLAND* 
 
No. 3 
 
September Term, 2023 
______________________________________ 
 
IN RE: M.P. 
______________________________________ 
 
Fader, C.J. 
Watts 
Hotten 
Booth 
Biran 
Gould 
Eaves, 
 
JJ. 
______________________________________ 
 
PER CURIAM ORDER 
______________________________________ 
 
Filed: September 8, 2023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*At the November 8, 2022 general election, the voters of Maryland ratified a constitutional 
amendment changing the name of the Court of Appeals of Maryland to the Supreme Court 
of Maryland.  The name change took effect on December 14, 2022. 
Circuit Court for Prince George’s County 
Case No. JA-22-0183 
 
Argued: September 8, 2023 
Pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials 
Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this 
document is authentic. 
 
Gregory Hilton, Clerk 
2023-09-08 16:35-04:00
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
IN THE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
SUPREME COURT 
IN RE: M.P. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
OF MARYLAND 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
No. 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
September Term, 2023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PER CURIAM ORDER 
 
Upon consideration of the opening brief of M.P., Petitioner, the motion to dismiss 
and brief of the State of Maryland, Respondent, the opposition to the motion to dismiss and 
reply brief of M.P., filed in the above-captioned case, and oral argument conducted on 
September 8, 2023, and having noted that M.P. was the subject of a juvenile delinquency 
petition in Case No. JA-22-0183 alleging that he committed motor vehicle theft and that 
he was 12 years old on the date of the alleged offense, for reasons to be stated later in an 
opinion to be filed, it is this 8th day of September 2023, by the Supreme Court of Maryland, 
a majority of the Court concurring, 
ORDERED, that the State’s motion to dismiss the appeal is DENIED; and it is 
further 
ORDERED, that, under the common law collateral order doctrine, see In re O.P., 
470 Md. 225, 250-51, 235 A.3d 4055 (2020), an interlocutory appeal of the August 8, 2022 
ruling of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, sitting as a juvenile court, denying 
M.P.’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is permitted; and it is further 
- 2 - 
 
ORDERED, that the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, sitting as a juvenile 
court, was required to grant M.P.’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction because Md. 
Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-8A-03, a part of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Reform 
Act (“JJRA”), effective on June 1, 2022, removed the juvenile court’s jurisdiction over 
juvenile delinquency proceedings against children under 13 years of age with the exception 
of those aged 10 to 12 years old who are alleged to have committed an act that, if committed 
by an adult, would constitute a crime of violence as defined in Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law 
§ 14-101; and it is further 
ORDERED, that the August 8, 2022 ruling of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s 
County, sitting as a juvenile court, is hereby REVERSED; and it is further 
ORDERED, that the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, sitting as a juvenile 
court, does not have jurisdiction over M.P. in Case No. JA-22-0183, a case that was 
pending when the JJRA became effective and that involved the alleged theft of a motor 
vehicle that occurred when M.P. was 12 years old; and it is further 
ORDERED, that costs are to be paid by Prince George’s County and the mandate is 
to issue forthwith. 
 
 
 
 /s/ Matthew J. Fader          
        Chief Justice