Rule 8-122 - Appeals from Proceedings for Adoption or Guardianship-Confidentiality(a)Scope. This Rule applies to an appeal from an order relating to a child in a proceeding for adoption or for guardianship with right to consent to adoption or long-term care short of adoption.(b) Caption. The proceeding shall be styled "In re Adoption/Guardianship of A.B. (initial of the adoptee or ward's first name and initial of adoptee or ward's last name).(c) Confidentiality. The name of the child, the natural parents of the child, and the adopting parents, other than their initials, shall not be used in any opinion, oral argument, brief, record extract, petition, or other document pertaining to the appeal that is generally available to the public. The parties, with the approval of the appellate court, may waive the requirements of this section.(d) Transmittal of Record. The record shall be transmitted to the appellate court in a manner that ensures the secrecy of its contents.(e)Access to the Record.(1)Adoption Proceeding. Except by order of the Court and subject to reasonable conditions and restrictions imposed by the Court, the record in an appeal from an adoption proceeding shall be open to inspection only by the Court and authorized court personnel.(2)Guardianship Proceeding. Except by order of the Court, the record in an appeal from a guardianship proceeding shall be open to inspection only by the Court, authorized court personnel, parties, and their attorneys.Md. R. Rev. Ct. App. & Spec. App. 8-122
Adopted Nov. 19, 1987, eff. 7/1/1988. Amended March 5, 2001, eff. 7/1/2001; 12/13/2016, eff. 4/1/2017.HISTORICAL NOTES
2001 Orders
The March 5, 2001, order, in section (b), modified the styling of the caption.
2016 Orders
The December 13, 2016, order removed the requirement in an appeal from certain orders relating to a child in a proceeding for adoption or for guardianship that the proceeding be styled using the child's first name and the initial of the child's last name; substituted the requirement that the proceeding be styled using the initials of the child's first and last names; required that only the first and last initials of a child, the parents of the child, and the adopting parents be used in any document pertaining to the appeal.