Opinion ID: 1924312
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Time Limitations for Filing a Petition for Writ of Certiorari

Text: Md.Code (1974, 2006 Repl.Vol.), § 12-201 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, entitled Certiorari to Court of Special Appeals provides: Except as provided in § 12-202 of this subtitle, in any case or proceeding pending in or decided by the Court of Special Appeals upon appeal from a circuit court or an orphans' court or the Maryland Tax Court, any party, including the State, may file in the Court of Appeals a petition for certiorari to review the case or proceeding. The petition may be filed either before or after the Court of Special Appeals has rendered a decision, but not later than the time prescribed by the Maryland Rules. In a case or proceeding described in this section, the Court of Appeals also may issue the writ of certiorari on its own motion. (Emphasis added.) To examine the time prescribed by the Maryland Rules, we turn first to Rule 8-302, which is entitled Petition for writ of certiorari  Times for filing. The text of Maryland Rule 8-302 begins by mirroring the language of Md. Code (1974, 2006 Repl.Vol.), § 12-201 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. It reiterates that a petition for writ of certiorari may be filed either before or after the Court of Special Appeals has rendered a decision. . . . It then prescribes the applicable time period referenced in § 12-201 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. It states explicitly that a petition for writ of certiorari may be filed before or after the Court of Special Appeals's decision, but not later than 15 days after the Court of Special Appeals issues its mandate. The language of this rule is clear  the petition must be filed within 15 days after the issuance of the mandate. We therefore conclude that if the petition for writ of certiorari arrives in the Clerk's office after the fifteenth day, then it is not timely filed. [3] Ms. Sterling contends that Maryland Rule 1-203(c) applies to the instant case because she received a copy of the mandate via the mail. [4] We disagree. Rule 1-203(c), entitled Additional time after service by mail, states explicitly that [w]henever a party has the right or is required to do some act . . . within a prescribed period after service upon the party of a notice or other paper and service is made by mail, three days shall be added to the prescribed period. Rule 1-203(c) is inapplicable to petitions for writ of certiorari because it refers to a prescribed period after service upon a party, specifically service made by mail. While Ms. Sterling received a copy of the mandate by mail, service is not a requirement associated with the issuance of a mandate. As Rule 8-302 states, the Court of Special Appeals issues a mandate, it is not required to serve the mandate upon the parties as a prerequisite to its issuance or effective date. Kamara, 136 Md.App. at 336-38, 765 A.2d at 1007, is instructive on this point because entry of a judgment is analogous to the issuance of a mandate, despite the fact that Ms. Sterling argues that entry is much more stringent than issue. In Kamara, the intermediate appellate court was asked to determine whether the trial court erred in striking the notice of an appeal on the grounds that it was untimely filed because it was filed 33 days after a final judgment  three days longer than the time prescribed by Maryland Rule 8-202. Maryland Rule 8-202(a) states that, the notice of appeal shall be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order from which the appeal is taken. The Court of Special Appeals examined whether Rule 1-203(c) applied and held that Rule 8-202 specifically uses the word entry. Since action is not required to be taken after service, Rule 1-203(c) does not apply. The court explained that [t]he plain language of Rule 1-203(c) states that it applies to service by mail, not to an entry by the court. Like statutes, we will not read an ambiguity into a rule where none exists. . . . Rule 1-203(c) only applies when service is a prerequisite to triggering the clock. [5] We also reject Ms. Sterling's contentions that a strict adherence to Rule 8-302 presents issues of fairness because she did not know when the Court of Special Appeals was going to file its mandate and also that such an interpretation would provide her with less time in which to file her petition than Atlantic had to file its answer to her petition. Maryland Rule 8-606(b) provides that: Upon a voluntary dismissal, the Clerk shall issue the mandate immediately. In all other cases, unless a motion for reconsideration has been filed or the Court orders otherwise, the Clerk shall issue the mandate upon the expiration of 30 days after the filing of the Court's opinion or entry of the Court's order. (Emphasis added.) In this case, the Court of Special Appeals filed its opinion on September 5, 2006. The expiration of 30 days after the filing of that opinion would have been October 5, 2006. Ms. Sterling was therefore on notice that the Clerk of the intermediate appellate court would likely issue the mandate on October 5, such that her petition for writ of certiorari would be due on October 20. In fact, the Clerk of the Court of Special Appeals waited until October 11 to issue the mandate, giving Ms. Sterling six extra days in which to file her petition for writ of certiorari. Ms. Sterling had 51 days from the date that the Court of Special Appeals filed its opinion to file her petition and, therefore, simply cannot reasonably argue that she did not have ample time in which to prepare her petition. Furthermore, we reject Ms. Sterling's argument that our holding allows respondents more time to prepare their answers to petitions for writ of certiorari than petitioners have to file their petitions for writ of certiorari. Maryland Rule 8-303(d) provides that [w]ithin 15 days after service of the petition, any other party may file an original and seven copies of an answer to the petition stating why the writ should be denied (emphasis added). We agree with Ms. Sterling that Rule 1-203(c) applies to answers to petitions for writ of certiorari if service is made by mail because Rule 8-303(d) specifically affords a party the right to file an answer after service. [6] A respondent therefore has 18 days in which to file an answer to a petition, if the petition is served by mail, because a respondent has the 15 days prescribed by Rule 1-303(d) in addition to the three days provided for by Rule 1-203(c). Notwithstanding, this 18 day period is still shorter than the 45 day period that a petitioner ordinarily has to file a petition for writ of certiorari, and the 51 day period that Ms. Sterling had to file her petition for writ of certiorari. PETITION AND CONDITIONAL CROSS-PETITION DISMISSED. GAIL STERLING TO PAY COSTS. Concurring Opinion by WILNER, J. I have joined the Court's Opinion because it is correct. The Court's holding that Maryland Rule 1-203(c) does not extend the time allowed under Rule 8-302(a) for filing a petition for certiorari to the Court of Special Appeals is a reasonable construction of the two Rules and creates no hardship in the normal case. As the Court notes, the Court of Special Appeals, in conformance with Rule 8-606(b), ordinarily issues its mandate 30 days after its opinion is filed, so a party has at least 45 days in which to prepare and file a petition for certiorari. A hardship may arise, however, if the intermediate appellate court decides to issue its mandate forthwith, which, under Maryland Rule 8-606(b), it is entitled to do and occasionally, though rarely, does do, especially if the opinion directing that mandate is unreported and is not immediately available on-line. In that situation, a party may, in fact, have very little time in which to analyze the opinion and prepare a proper petition for certiorari. I would suggest that this Court's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure give some thought to proposing an amendment to Rule 8-302(a), to provide an alternative period for the filing of a petition for certiorari: the later of 15 days after the issuance of the Court of Special Appeals mandate or 30 days after the filing of that court's opinion. In the great majority of cases, the time would remain precisely as it now is  15 days after issuance of the mandate. In those rare cases in which the mandate is issued less than 30 days after the filing of the opinion, the party would have at least those 30 days in which to file a petition.