Court

A man police were trying to take into custody in Harford County Circuit Court escaped Wednesday and led police on a brief foot chase. Alton Cumbo Jr., 19, who has addresses in the 1000 block of Waterside Court and the 1200 block of Valley Leaf Court, both in Edgewood, was late for a violation of probation hearing before Judge William Carr Wednesday morning, according to Aaron Stewart, a spokesman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office. He showed up around lunchtime. Carr was not pleased the man was late, Stewart said, and told him he was going to hold him "for a little while.

Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan will visit a new, $112 million building next month that will house the University of Baltimore School of Law, school officials said Monday. The John and Frances Angelos Law Center, which has been under construction since 2010 and is an anchor of development in the North Charles Street corridor, will also host Gov. Martin O'Malley and Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell during a series of opening celebrations next month.

Michael D. Eaton ran up a tab for 17 beers plus other drinks before he left a Gaithersburg tavern, according to court records. Forty-five minutes later, behind the wheel of his Range Rover, he slammed into the back of a Jeep Cherokee at a speed estimated as high as 98 mph. Ten-year-old Jazimen Warr had nestled on her sister's shoulder, the two children sleeping in the back of the family's Cherokee on the drive to a relative's home in Bowie....

Randallstown girls basketball coach Ron Isaacs called his team "the Cinderella team" of the state Class 2A state semifinals, but the Rams did not have a great time at the ball. Isaacs' youngsters stuck close for a while before Middletown's combination of outside shooting and inside strength overwhelmed them and powered the Knights to a 60-27 victory at UMBC's RAC Arena. The Rams (22-7) had their only leads in the first quarter. Mariah Byam's follow shot and Essence Stinnette's free throw gave them a 9-8 edge, but that would be their last lead as Middletown scored 12 straight points.

Lawyers for a Harford County teenager charged with killing his father last year say they have evidence that two other juveniles were involved in the man's death. At a hearing in Bel Air on Friday, lawyers for Robert C. Richardson III told Harford County Circuit Judge Stephen Waldron that they are seeking information on the two juveniles, including their criminal histories and school records. The 17-year-old Richardson, who lived in Bel Air, is charged as an adult in the death of his father, Robert C. Richardson Jr., in January 2012.

Victims' advocates are concerned that a Maryland Court of Appeals decision this week will allow some sex offenders to have their names removed from the statewide sex offender registry, but it's still unclear exactly how the ruling could affect the database. "I do expect that other sex offenders will petition to have their names removed," said Lisae Jordan, executive director and counsel for the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In a ruling that was not unanimous, the appeals court said Monday that a man identified as John Doe should have his name taken off the registry because the requirement to do so violates the state constitution's restrictions on retroactive punishment.

A Circuit Court judge has ruled that Baltimore County's contract with its speed camera vendor is illegal, because it pays the company a cut of each citation issued — a ruling that could help others challenge their citations in court. While Judge Susan Souder's ruling dismissed only a single speed camera ticket, the opinion is believed to be the first time a judge has ruled against the legality of the so-called "bounty system," one of the most controversial elements of the law. The ruling could help other motorists fight speed camera tickets, even though it has no direct effect on other cases, said John A. Lynch Jr., a professor and associate dean at the University of Baltimore School of Law. "It's not binding precedent," he said.

The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a man convicted of child sex abuse did not have to register as a sex offender because it would violate the state constitution's provisions against retroactive punishments. The ruling was split, with a plurality of three of the court's seven judges agreeing on one interpretation of the law, while others had different opinions and one dissented from the opinion. The man, identified only as John Doe in his appeal, was convicted in 2006 of child sex abuse stemming from an incident in the early 1980s when he was a middle school teacher in Washington County and the 13-year-old child was his student, according to the ruling.

It may be known as the Nation's River, but here where the Potomac carves its way between Maryland and Virginia, ownership is up for grabs. Again. A court battle that pits a group of property owners against two small paddling and tubing companies seeks to establish who controls the river, the banks and the mud below. A Washington County circuit judge has pushed the dispute across the water to Loudoun County, Va., saying he lacks jurisdiction. But it's not clear that Virginia's justice system has standing either.

A stretch of Seven Courts Drive in Perry Hall where a local resident was killed in 2012 will be reconstructed this spring an effort to slow traffic and improve safety. County Councilman David Marks, whose 5th District includes Perry Hall, announced the project Feb. 13 by the county Department of Public Works. He said the $10,000 project should be finished by Memorial Day. Plans call for installing a brick island with pedestrian crossing on the road between the Seven Oaks Senior Center and Seven Oaks Elementary School.