Circuit Court for Baltimore City a State trial court of unlimited jurisdiction. It handles all types of cases and is divided into four main divisions: Family, Juvenile, Criminal, and Civil.
The Family Division hears cases pertaining to divorce, custody and child support and the Juvenile Docket handles delinquency cases, child in need of assistance cases, and those involving the termination of parental rights. The type of cases on our Civil Docket also go across a broad spectrum and include motor torts, workers compensation appeals, medical malpractice cases, lead paint cases, asbestos litigation and those involving business and commercial matters. Likewise, the Criminal Docket cases range from drug and property crimes such as burglaries, breakings and enterings and robberies to those involving shootings and homicides. Additional information regarding these dockets may be obtained by clicking on the particular division.
Select opinions of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City -- plus a very few opinions from other circuit and district courts -- are published in the Daily Record, Maryland's legal newspaper. Subscribers can search the archive back to July 7, 2000 on the Record Web site (http://thedailyrecord.com). LexisAdvance has coverage from 1995 to the present (MD;DLYREC). Westlaw has coverage from August 1991 to April 1999, then from November 2002 to the present (DAILYREC).(password required for LexisAdvance and Westlaw)
To locate other opinions, contact the relevant Court Clerk (you can find phone numbers through www.mdcourts.gov/circuit).
.The District Court (First District is the lowest level court. The jurisdiction of the District court includes all landlord-tenant cases, replevin actions, motor vehicle violations, misdemeanors and certain felonies. In civil cases the District Court has exclusive jurisdiction in claims for $5,000 or less, and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in claims for amounts above $5,000 but less than $30,000. The jurisdiction of the District Court is concurrent with that of the circuit court in criminal cases, classified as misdemeanors and certain felonies, in which the penalty may be confinement for 3 years or more or a fine of $2,500 or more. The District Court does not conduct jury trials.
Case records of the Maryland and District Courts can also be found on the Maryland Judiciary web page - in the Maryland Judiciary Case Search section.
Archived court records for courts in Maryland including Baltimore City courts are located at the Maryland State Archives
The Orphan's Court of Baltimore City deals with wills and estates and has jurisdiction over the appointment of guardians for minors.
Useful sources for court information include:
Each court for Baltimore City has its own practice forms. The University of Baltimorel Law Library owns a number of form books in print that contain sample practice forms. Among them are:
Online resources offer current practice forms in printable format: