Maryland
Maryland Supreme Court hears arguments on child sex abuse lawsuits
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Supreme Court of Maryland heard arguments on Tuesday about the constitutionality of a 2023 law that ended the state’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits following a report that exposed widespread wrongdoing within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The arguments, which lasted several hours and often veered into highly technical legalese, largely focused on the intent of the Maryland legislature when it passed a preceding law in 2017 that said people in Maryland who were sexually abused as children could bring lawsuits up until they turned 38.
A ruling from the state’s highest court is expected in the coming months.
Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed the Child Victims Act into law last year — less than a week after the state’s attorney general released a report that documented rampant abuse committed by Baltimore clergy spanning 80 years and accused church leaders of decades of coverups.
The report, which is nearly 500 pages, included details about more than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore abusing over 600 children. State investigators began their work in 2019. They reviewed over 100,000 pages of documents dating back to the 1940s and interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses.
Days before the new law was to take effect Oct. 1, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy to protect its assets ahead of an anticipated deluge of litigation. That means claims filed against the archdiocese will be relegated to bankruptcy court, but other institutions such as Catholic schools and individual parishes can still be sued directly.
All lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act have been placed on hold pending a decision from the Maryland Supreme Court. Lawmakers had anticipated such a challenge on constitutional grounds and included a provision in the law outlining that process.
While the court’s ruling will have wide-reaching effects for child sex abuse cases in Maryland, the oral arguments Tuesday centered on a seemingly small technical issue involving the earlier 2017 law change that established the cutoff at age 38.
The question at hand is whether a provision in the 2017 legislation was written in such a way that permanently protected certain defendants from liability. Answering that question likely requires the court to decide whether the provision should be considered a statute of limitations or a so-called statute of repose.
Attorneys for defendants facing liability claims under the new law contend it’s a statute of repose, which they say can’t be modified because it includes a “vested right to be free from liability.”
“As a general matter, of course, a legislature may repeal existing laws and substitute new ones. But it may not do so in a manner that destroys substantive rights that have vested under the terms of existing law,” the Archdiocese of Washington wrote in a brief filed ahead of oral arguments.
Attorneys representing businesses, insurance companies and Maryland civil defense lawyers also raised concerns in a supporting brief about issues surrounding witness testimony and record retention in cases being filed decades after the fact.
But the most substantive arguments before the court Tuesday focused on legislative intent.
Attorneys for abuse survivors asserted that when the Maryland General Assembly passed the 2017 law, legislators clearly did not intend to prevent future lawmakers from reconsidering the issue and altering the time limits on civil lawsuits. The law may have included the term “repose,” but that doesn’t mean the legislature wanted to make it permanent, attorneys argued.
“There is a debate between that label — statute of repose — and the actual operational function of the act,” attorney Catherine Stetson told the court’s seven justices, arguing that the court should consider the statute’s structure, operation and full text rather than looking at “a word in a vacuum.”
“Child sexual abuse is a scourge on society, and it often takes survivors decades to come to terms with what they suffered,” victims’ attorneys wrote in a brief. “It is hard to imagine a law more rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest than this one.”
Some justices expressed skepticism about whether state legislators in 2017 knowingly chose language with the intention of limiting the powers of their successors.
“If it had that significance, wouldn’t you expect that there would be more explanation in the legislative record?” Chief Justice Matthew Fader asked. “Wouldn’t that have popped up somewhere?”
Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Washington and the Key School, a small private school in Annapolis, asserted that the legislature was clear and unambiguous in its language.
“The General Assembly meant exactly what it said,” attorney Sean Gugerty told the court. “The plain language of the statute is what controls the analysis.”
Justice Brynja Booth pointed out that interpreting the law isn’t always cut and dry.
“Don’t we often look beyond a label … to look at the characteristics to determine what it actually means,” she said.
Maryland parks are hosting a variety of special events during the week of July 4 to mark the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, including a tree planting, bike parade, historical reenactments, and kids crafts. With parks open on Independence Day, Marylanders can start a new tradition by hiking, learn more about our nation’s history by visiting Read the Rest…
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MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he plans to call a special session in Annapolis to redraw the state’s congressional district maps, reviving a contentious redistricting fight that stalled earlier this year.
“The status in Maryland is we are going to have a special session,” Moore said in an interview on CNN. Asked, “You are going to do it?” Moore replied, “We are going to do it.”
Moore told CNN the goal is for lawmakers to return to Annapolis and produce a new map. “Our House and our Senate will get together. They will come up with a resolution and bring it to my desk,” Moore said. “But the core criteria I’ve laid out is…doing nothing is not an option.”
It would be Moore’s second attempt at redistricting. Earlier this year, an advisory commission appointed by the governor proposed a map that would stretch the mostly Republican 1st Congressional District into largely Democratic Howard and Anne Arundel counties. The change would put Maryland’s only Republican member of Congress into a district with more Democratic voters.
The proposal drew sharp criticism during a hearing. “Governor Moore and Democrats in Annapolis, you are stealing our voice and our vote,” one speaker said. Moore responded, “It’s an important question of what’s the value of one vote and I think the answer to that is ‘what’s the value of democracy.’” Del. Kathy Szeliga said, “How can you ask us to trust democracy when you are taking it so lightly.”
ALSO READ | Gov. Wes Moore selected as Democratic nominee for Maryland’s next governor: AP
The measure passed in the House but never came to a vote in the Senate. In Annapolis today, Senate Democrats gathered to discuss what to do next.
“I think they’re meeting to figure out what can we do to make sure the judges don’t get involved and overturn what they’re trying to do,” said political analyst John Dedie.
A UMBC poll last year found only a fourth of Maryland voters considered redistricting a priority, with crime, education and health care viewed as more important.
Szeliga criticized Moore’s push, saying, “It’s unfortunate Wes Moore is doing the bidding of Democrats in Washington and not paying attention to the residents in the great state of Maryland.” Dedie said, “In many ways what he’s pursuing is future aspirations.”
Maryland’s last attempt to redraw congressional lines four years ago ended up in court, where a judge threw out the proposed maps, finding they were the product of “extreme partisan gerrymandering.” Szeliga, who successfully fought that court battle, said she is prepared to challenge another effort. “If they try to illegally change the constitution to make it unconstitutional we will challenge that,” she said.
Dediesaid a special session now appears likely. “The train has left the station. It’s just a matter of when it will arrive in Annapolis for special session,” he said.
One of the most unique ships featured in Sail250 Maryland and Airshow Baltimore can be found docked at the Baltimore Peninsula.
USS Marinette LCS25 is one of the most functional ships in the Navy fleet. At 370 feet long with 80 crew members, the ship has a helicopter landing pad and hangar, two rib boats in the belly of the vessel, and heavy artillery, including a cannon.
The ship has four engines, two of which are like jet engines, meaning it can sprint ahead of other vessels to intercept watercraft. It can also truck side to side and spin 360 degrees with controllable reversing and steering deflector buckets attached to the stern of the jet propulsion system. It can also traverse the littoral zones, water close to shore, and navigate waters as low as 15 feet deep.
“Where we shine is our ability to operate where other ships can’t,” said Cdr. Brian Sims, the ship’s executive officer. “For a 370-foot ship, one of the smallest in the fleet, it packs a punch. We can go 40 plus knots.”
The ship is used in counternarcotics missions primarily on the East Coast and in the Caribbean.
It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, but was built in Marinette, Wisconsin, which is where the ship gets its name. It began operating in 2023 and has yet to deploy. The ship can be out on the water for weeks or even months.
“We go out and find drug trafficking individuals and intercept, and the Coast Guard then takes over and arrests,” Sims said.
The pilot house is where the ship truly shines. An officer and junior officer monitor the radar and navigation, while another sailor sits at the helm and oversees steering the vessel and monitoring the engines.
“This is a very unique design for Navy ships,” Sims added.
The ship also hosts several heavy artillery pieces, including a cannon on the bow with different types of rounds to combat different threats. It can fire 220 rounds in a minute.
With its rich Naval history, Baltimore is playing host to some of the Navy’s finest, and the crews are equally as excited to be here in Maryland, the backbone of the Navy, celebrating 250 years of American history.
“Baltimore is a fantastic city, steeped in maritime tradition. Of course, we have Fort McHenry that we sailed past and rendered honors to when we arrived,” Sims said. “Having the ability to be in this role in this position on board this ship to celebrate the nation’s 250th, it’s an absolute honor, and one that, one that gives us all pause, and lets us reflect on where we’ve come as a nation.”
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