Title: In Re Santos Nohe Lopez Perez

State: maryland

Issuer: Maryland Supreme Court

Document:

Circuit Court for Prince George’s County   
Case No. CAE 17-06052 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 
 
OF MARYLAND 
 
                    
No. 61  
 
 
September Term, 2018 
 
 
 
IN RE SANTOS NOHE LOPEZ PEREZ 
           
 
 
 
Barbera, C.J.  
Greene 
McDonald 
Watts 
Hotten 
Getty, 
 JJ. 
 
 
 
              ORDER 
  
 
 
 
Filed: January 4, 2019  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal 
Materials Act 
(§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. 
 
 
 
 
 
Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk 
2019-01-08 
10:47-05:00
 
IN RE SANTOS NOHE LOPEZ PEREZ  
* 
IN THE 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
COURT OF APPEALS 
 
          
 
 
* 
OF MARYLAND 
 
 
 
 
* 
No. 61 
 
 
 
 
* 
September Term, 2018 
 
 
C O R R E C T E D 
O R D E R 
 
 
WHEREAS, counsel for Petitioner has filed an emergency petition for certiorari 
and motion for related relief requesting that this Court reverse the Court of Special 
Appeals’ dismissal of Petitioner’s appeal as untimely; 
 
WHEREAS, Petitioner is attempting to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status 
(“SIJS”), which, under federal law, he must apply for by his 21st birthday set to occur on 
Thursday, January 10, 2019; 
 
WHEREAS, this case arises from the circuit court’s August 31, 2017, order 
denying Petitioner’s request that the court enter the requisite SIJS factual findings, 
notwithstanding the uncontested evidence in the record demonstrating that Petitioner 
suffered parental abuse and neglect;    
 
WHEREAS, after the circuit court denied Petitioner’s motion to alter or amend that 
judgment on September 26, 2017, Petitioner filed a notice of appeal on October 12, 2017, 
that but for counsel’s failure to include a Certificate of Service would have been timely; 
 
WHEREAS, counsel filed a corrected notice of appeal on October 27, 2017;  
 
WHEREAS, the Court of Special Appeals decided the case 418 days after the 
appeal was noted; 
 
WHEREAS, the due process concerns underlying Maryland Rule 1-323 are not 
implicated here because Petitioner’s parents, who reside in Guatemala, previously waived 
service and do not contest Petitioner’s allegations of abuse and neglect; 
 
WHEREAS, Petitioner is left without recourse to redress counsel’s deficient 
conduct and, through no fault of his own, may face severe hardship if the Court of Special 
Appeals’ decision stands; 
 
WHEREAS, in light of the above, this Court, in separate order, granted the petition 
for certiorari in the above-entitled case; 
 
NOW, therefore, it is this 4th day of January 2019,  
 
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, a majority of the Court 
concurring, that the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals be reversed in the interest of 
justice; and it is further  
 
 
ORDERED, that this case be remanded to the Court of Special Appeals with the 
instruction that the August 31, 2017 order of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, 
Docket Entry No. 15, be vacated and, further, that the case be remanded to the Circuit Court 
to enter forthwith an amended order that includes the following factual findings: (1) 
Petitioner is an unmarried individual under the age of 21, (2) Petitioner has been placed 
under the custody of an individual appointed by the court, (3) the court has jurisdiction 
under Maryland law to make determinations about Petitioner’s custody and care, (4) 
reunification with Petitioner’s parents is not viable due to the unrefuted evidence of abuse 
and neglect, and (5) it is not in Petitioner’s best interest to return to Guatemala; and it is 
further 
 
 ORDERED, that this order be satisfied with haste, as Mr. Perez faces the imminent 
deadline of January 9, 2019, to submit his SIJS application.  This order pertains solely and 
exclusively to the extraordinary and exigent circumstances of this case.  All costs are 
waived.  Mandate to issue forthwith. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                 /s/ Mary Ellen Barbera      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     Chief Judge