If you have not been following along, back in November, 2022, Maryland voted to change some things around. Maryland had the below Question statewide presented to voters:
Constitutional Amendment - Court of Appeals and Special Appeals - Renaming
What It Does: The Renaming changes the names of Maryland's appellate courts. Further, judges serving on the Court of Appeals will hold new titles. What It Changes: This would be Amending the Maryland Constitution in the following areas: Article II, Section 6, Article III, Sections 5, 30 and 52, Article IV, Sections 1, 3, 3A, 4B, 5A, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, and 41E, Article V, Section 6, and Article XVII, Section 3.
In fact, approximately 74.99% of Marylanders voted FOR the Constitutional Amendment. Therefore, effective December 14, 2022, The Court of Appeals will become the “Supreme Court of Maryland” and the Court of Special Appeals will become the “Appellate Court of Maryland.”
Additionally, this effectively changed the name of a Judge of the Court of Appeals to be a "Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland" and the name of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to be the "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland."
According to an article written by the Baltimore Sun, in March of 2021, prior to the 2022 election results, both Maryland and New York were the only states that do not refer to their state's top court as the supreme court.
Not to ignore the fact that other changes occurred too, but the recent changes relating to the names of the Courts should be noted by all, as those who need to file for various legal matters need to make sure to file into the correct Court. So double check the Court before filing!
Reference: If you are curious about other Official 2002 Election Results, please visit Maryland State Board of Elections for more information!
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