Court Opinion

ID: 9696490
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:49:12.510929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:22.755649
License: Public Domain

WILNEK, J.
I have joined the Court’s Opinion because it is correct. The Court’s holding that Maryland Rule l-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 online. 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.