|
Sally Rankin - 410-260-1488 Court Information Office
For Immediate Release |
| BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY CASES IN
BALTIMORE TO BE HANDLED BY SPECIALIZED JUDGES
BALTIMORE (December 20, 2002) – Starting on January 1st, complex business and technology cases in Baltimore will be assigned to a separate case management program and will be heard by judges with specialized training in economic, business and technology law, Judge Ellen M. Heller announced today. Judge Heller, Administrative Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, said the case management program would start with the new year. She named Judge Albert J. Matricciani, Jr. as director of the program. “This places us among a handful of states that have adopted a comprehensive approach to business and technology cases,” Judge Heller said. “This is a specialized and growing area of law, and this new program will ensure that cases will be handled in a consistent and timely manner in our circuit courts.” The new program, approved earlier this year by the Court of Appeals, will permit lawyers to request that cases involving significant business and/or technology issues be assigned to the program. If accepted by the program director, the cases will be assigned to one of two or three business and technology judges in each circuit. In addition to Judge Matricciani, Judge Evelyn Omega Cannon and Judge Kaye Allison have been assigned to the program in Baltimore City. These judges will receive specialized training and will be encouraged to experiment with new technologies and to publish their opinions on a statewide website. The Baltimore City program was developed with the assistance of an advisory council, composed of judges, lawyers and business leaders after a legislative task force recommended creation of the program a year ago. Judge Matricciani, who serves on a committee of the Conference of Circuit Judges charged with implementing the program, said, “Maryland’s business and technology case management program responds to the legislative initiative to develop a better way of managing complex cases of this nature, and it reflects a national trend to establish specialized courts dealing with business and technology cases.” The effort has been supported by the business law sections of the American Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association. ##### |