REVISED
PROTOCOL
The Maryland Business and Technology
Case Management Program Implementation Committee recommended that there
be an “opinion database” of judicial opinions arising from cases in the
program. A purpose
of the database, according to the report, “is to provide lawyers and litigants
with a growing body of predictive information at the trial court level
to advise clients on likely rulings.” The report also stated that
another purpose is “to encourage collegiality and consistency among the
judges.”
With these purposes in mind, the program
will be accepting judicial opinions and rulings that meet the criteria
of this protocol for publication on the judiciary website and potential
republication by other interested entities.
Consistent with the purposes outlined
above, the program will consider for publication on the website opinions
or rulings that contain factual or legal analysis that would be useful
to other judges as well as lawyers and litigants interested in the program.
Rulings that are merely conclusory in nature and not explanatory of the
law will not be suitable for posting.
Among the types of opinions that would
be considered are rulings on discovery motions, motions to dismiss, or
motions for summary judgment. Findings of facts and conclusions
of law after a bench trial may also be suitable. Opinions granting
or denying injunctive relief could also be appropriate for posting.
Procedures
for submission of an opinion
1. A program judge may submit an opinion
or ruling for publication by completing a transmittal
form below and electronically submitting the form and the text
of the opinion to David Durfee at the Administrative Office of the Courts.
It is requested that the opinion be submitted by e-mail in WordPerfect
or MS Word. Mr. Durfee can be reached by e-mail at: david.durfee@courts.state.md.us.
2. The submission will be reviewed
by the Opinion Committee of the Program which shall determine the opinion’s
suitability for posting. The committee may consult with the judge
who submitted the opinion. The decision of the committee will be final.
3. Any opinions posted on the website
will be considered to be in the public domain and may be republished by
any person or entity seeking to do so. Therefore, any ruling or
opinion that is under seal or contains confidential data should not be
submitted.
4. If the opinion is posted on the
website, it will be assigned a citation for this database utilizing the
year and the number of the opinion added in sequential order for that
year. For example, “2003 MDBT 5” would be the fifth opinion reported
for the year 2003. The number will be assigned at the time of posting.
5. The opinion also will be posted
on Westlaw. You may search in the Maryland State Cases database
operated by Westlaw and use keywords to find business and technology cases
discussing specific issues. For example, you may want to see if
there are any Business and Technology opinions dealing with arbitration
agreements being severable from the rest of an agreement. A search
on Westlaw of “arbitration /3 agreement /5 severable” would display a
search result showing “Sunterra Corp. v. Ernst & Young LLP” at 2003
MDBT 1.
6. Given that Westlaw access now is
available, with searching capabilities not available before, it no longer
will be necessary for the website to publish its own synopses of the cases
on the website.
7. It is expected that the opinions
posted will remain part of the permanent database once submitted and approved,
and will in ordinary circumstances not be removed.
The transmittal
form is available in Word Perfect and Word. Please fill out the
form, save the form with a file name that includes the judge's last name
and bt - for example; smith_bt.doc.
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