Administrative Order Lifting the COVID-19 Health Emergency

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
LIFTING THE COVID-19 HEALTH EMERGENCY
AS TO THE MARYLAND JUDICIARY

 

WHEREAS, Pursuant to the Maryland Constitution, Article IV, § 18, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals is granted authority as the administrative head of the Judicial Branch of the State; and

WHEREAS, Title 16, Chapter 1000 of the Maryland Rules of Practice and Procedure sets forth emergency powers of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals; and

WHEREAS, Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and consistent with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), an emergency has existed since March 2020; and

WHEREAS, The COVID-19 emergency required measures to mitigate potential for exposure for individuals visiting a court or judicial facility and for judicial personnel; and

WHEREAS, The CDC having updated its protocols to make the wearing of masks voluntary, with the State and most, if not all, local jurisdictions having announced the lifting of the COVID-19 health emergency or poised to do so; and

WHEREAS, The conditions warranting the emergency status having been ameliorated in Maryland by the many and sustained efforts of its government and people; and

WHEREAS, the Judicial Branch, having moved successfully to Phase V full operations, including jury trials, on March 7, 2022,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Joseph M. Getty, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and administrative head of the Judicial Branch, pursuant to the authority conferred by Article IV, § 18 of the Maryland Constitution, do hereby order, this 28th day of March 2022, that:

• The Judicial Branch’s COVID-19 emergency period shall conclude at midnight on April 3, 2022, and normal operations shall resume thereafter, pending further order; and
• Pending further order of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, those hearings and proceedings that are scheduled to occur remotely on or after April 4, 2022, and have been scheduled pursuant to the emergency orders authorizing and encouraging the courts to conduct remote proceedings to the greatest extent possible¹ shall be allowed to proceed remotely as scheduled; and
• Pending further order of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, until such time that Prince George’s County and Baltimore become MDEC jurisdictions, when a matter is heard remotely in those jurisdictions, judges, judicial appointees or clerks are authorized to sign any document by personally affixing the judge’s, judicial appointee’s, or clerk’s signature by using an electronic process to affix their signature on the document, by hand signing a paper version of the document and scanning the hand-signed document containing the signature, or by typewriting the signer’s name, accompanied by a visual image of the signer’s handwritten signature or the symbol /s/; and
• Pending further order of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, those incumbent Maryland judges, each of whom were cross designated to sit in any

¹ Such hearings and proceedings being required to use communication platforms consistent with the Administrative Order on the Implementation of Remote Electronic Participation in Judicial Proceedings, filed June 18, 2018, the Amended Administrative Order on Remote Proceedings Held During the COVID-19 Emergency, filed May 1, 2020, and the relevant Maryland Rules, including amendments that took effect on July 1, 2020.

trial court in the State of Maryland during the emergency period, who then sat in other trial courts pursuant to those emergency orders shall continue to be authorized to sit in those matters that came before them until their completion, without the necessity of a further designation order; and

• The Final Administrative Order on the Emergency Tolling or Suspension of Statutes of Limitations and Statutory and Rules Deadlines Related to the Initiation of Matters and Certain Statutory and Rules Deadlines in Pending Matters During the COVID-19 Emergency, filed March 28, 2022, (Final Administrative Order on Emergency Tolling or Suspension), issued pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-1003(a)(7), shall control as to statutory and rules deadlines for the initiation of matters and for conducting certain court proceedings during the COVID-19 emergency and extensions caused thereby beyond the emergency period, except that the deadline for the scheduling of criminal jury trials shall be governed by the Final Administrative Order on Jury Trials and Grand Juries During the COVID-19 Emergency, filed March 28, 2022; and
• The suspension of Maryland Rules 2-507 and 3-507 during the COVID-19 emergency shall be governed by the Final Administrative Order on Emergency Tolling or Suspension; and
• To the extent that this Administrative Order conflicts with extant Administrative Orders, local administrative orders or policies, this Administrative Order shall prevail; and
• This Order shall be modified as appropriate; and
• The Amended Administrative Order on Remote Proceedings Held During the COVID-19 Emergency, filed May 1, 2020, shall be and hereby is rescinded, effective midnight, April 3, 2022; and
• The First Amended Administrative Order on Case Time Standards and Related Reports for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 in Light of the COVID-19 Emergency, filed February 2, 2021, shall be and hereby is rescinded, effective immediately; and
• The Fifth Amended Administrative Order Expanding Statewide Judiciary Operations in Light of the COVID-19 Emergency, filed March 1, 2022, shall be and hereby is rescinded, effective midnight, April 3, 2022.

 

/s/ Joseph M. Getty                             
Joseph M. Getty
Chief Judge
Court of Appeals of Maryland

Filed: March 28, 2022

/s/ Suzanne C. Johnson                 
Suzanne C. Johnson
Clerk
Court of Appeals of Maryland
                                                                                                                                                      2022-03-28 11:46-04:00