Supreme Court of Maryland holds off-site oral arguments at St. Mary’s College of Maryland

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, the Supreme Court of Maryland held oral arguments in St. Mary’s County, the first county to be established in the State of Maryland.  The arguments were heard at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the Nancy R. and Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center auditorium and livestreamed. This marks the second time in recent history that the Supreme Court held oral arguments outside the City of Annapolis. The Supreme Court of Maryland will continue to hold oral arguments at secondary or post-secondary educational institutions twice a term year at geographically diverse locations.

“The Court’s goal of enhancing community engagement supports the Judiciary’s goal of promoting accountability and public trust,” said Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader, Supreme Court of Maryland. “Our initiative of holding arguments outside of Annapolis provides our court the opportunity to advance that goal by bringing civic education to students, teachers, and the community. Although our oral arguments in Annapolis are open to the public, due to the geographic location of the courthouse, not everyone has the opportunity to view them in-person; this initiative is changing that. I want to thank the staff at St. Mary’s College of Maryland for their support of this program and allowing us to hold oral arguments on their historic campus.”

After oral arguments were heard, college and local high school students participated in a question-and-answer session with the justices covering topics such as judicial procedure, their paths to the bench, and educational advice for aspiring jurists.

“It was a pleasure to bring my colleagues to St. Mary’s College of Maryland and see how beautiful the Fifth Circuit is,” said Justice Jonathan Biran, Supreme Court of Maryland, representing the Fifth Appellate Judicial Circuit (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties). “The students in attendance were respectful and engaged during oral arguments and asked thoughtful questions during the Q&A. We are proud of this initiative which gives our bench the opportunity to let students see part of their government in action.”

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases – Antonio E. Gonzalez v. State of Maryland and Madelyn Bennett, Individually and as Successor Trustee of The Pauline A. Bennett Revocable Living Trust v. Thomas A. Gentile. A description of each case and archived recording of the oral arguments can be found on the Supreme Court web page.

The Supreme Court’s off-site oral arguments are made possible by the Administrative Order on the Supreme Court of Maryland Sitting Temporarily Outside of the City of Annapolis issued on March 2, 2023. The administrative order calls for the rotation of the temporary sittings of the Supreme Court beginning in September Term 2023. The justice from the host circuit selects the educational institution to host oral arguments, with the approval of the full Supreme Court.

The Appellate Court of Maryland also hosts oral arguments outside of Annapolis. Under Maryland law, the Appellate Court sits only in Annapolis with one exception: the court’s chief judge can set arguments at either of Maryland’s law schools. The Appellate Court has traditionally held one day of oral arguments at University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in the fall and at University of Baltimore School of Law in the spring.