Rule 8-305 - Certification of Questions of Law to the Court of Appeals(a) Certifying Court. "Certifying court as used in this Rule means a court authorized by Code, Courts Article, § 12-603 to certify a question of law to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Committee note: Necessary implication requires that the definition of "court set forth in Rule 1-202 does not apply in this Rule.
(b) Certification Order. In disposing of an action pending before it, a certifying court, on motion of any party or on its own initiative, may submit to the Supreme Court a question of law of this State, in accordance with the Maryland Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Act, by filing a certification order. The certification order shall be signed by a judge of the certifying court and state the question of law submitted, the relevant facts from which the question arises, and the party who shall be treated as the appellant in the certification procedure. The original order shall be forwarded to the Supreme Court by the clerk of the certifying court under its official seal, together with the filing fee for docketing regular appeals, payable to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.(c)Proceeding in the Supreme Court. The filing of the certification order in the Supreme Court shall be the equivalent of the transmission of a record on appeal. The Supreme Court may request, in addition, all or any part of the record before the certifying court. Upon request, the certifying court shall file the original or a copy of the parts of the record requested together with a certificate, under the official seal of the certifying court and signed by a judge or clerk of that court, stating that the materials submitted are all the parts of the record requested by the Supreme Court.(d)Decision by the Supreme Court. The written opinion of the Supreme Court stating the law governing the question certified shall be sent by the Clerk of the Supreme Court to the certifying court. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall certify, under seal of the Court, that the opinion is in response to the question of law of this State submitted by the certifying court.Md. R. Rev. Ct. App. & Spec. App. 8-305
This Rule is derived from former Rule 896.
Adopted Nov. 19, 1987, eff. 7/1/1988. Amended Nov. 12, 2003, eff. 1/1/2004; amended February 9, 2022, eff. 4/1/2022; amended April 21, 2023, eff. 4/1/2023.HISTORICAL NOTES
2003 Orders
The November 12, 2003, order changed the rule caption from "Certification from Federal Courts and Other State Courts to "Certification of Questions of Law to the Court of Appeals; rewrote section (a); added the committee note following section (a); and, in section (b), made a stylistic change. Prior to amendment, section (a) read:
"(a) Certifying Court. Certifying court" as used in this Rule means the Supreme Court of the United States, a United States Court of Appeals, a United States District Court, or the highest appellate court or an intermediate appellate court of another State, District, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States.
Code, Courts Article, §§ 12-601 through 12-609.