Maryland Court

The Maryland Court of Appeals has agreed to hear arguments in the foreclosure case of Kwaku Atta Poku, the Columbia cab owner who lost his home after refinancing, despite making every mortgage payment. The decision by the state's highest court to review the case pleased Atta Poku and his lawyers, and the outcome also could affect how Maryland courts handle similar cases as foreclosures become more common in the slumping Maryland housing market. Gerald M. Richman of Ellicott City, one of Atta Poku's lawyers, said the court will "determine whether or not you have a right to appeal a foreclosure action."

Several recent Sun articles demonstrate the positive power of newspapers. Just one day after a shocking Page One story of financial abuse that left a Columbia man bankrupt and his family homeless, government officials promised in another front-page article to close loopholes in Maryland's foreclosure process that allowed this outrage to occur . The first article, "Out of townhouse, but not by choice," written by Larry Carson, described how an immigrant from...

Ten months ago, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals overturned the child molestation conviction of James T. Brown Jr. because his trial had been delayed many times in Baltimore Circuit Court.The court's action brought to light problems in the city's court system that led to large-scale reforms, including a crackdown on trial delays and construction of courtrooms.Yesterday, the court reinstated Brown's conviction, ruling that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated because any delay did not harm his defense.

Rushing to judgment is not the right way to fix court system; Getting away with MURDERComment is in order on several points of your editorial "What's $130 million to resistant judges?" (Feb. 28).The crowded jails and criminal dockets in Baltimore compel prompt attention from those in the legal system. It is not true that the bench (nor, for that matter, the bar) is indifferent to or obstructionistic toward timely reform. Much time and effort have been expended by our judiciary in addressing these problems and, clearly, much more will be required.

Nine hundred celebrators gathered to laud legends in civil rights and song at the Baltimore Urban League's 75th Anniversary Gala at the Hyatt Regency. The notables numbered in the double digits as they gathered to dine on filet mignon and enjoy the dulcet tones of Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson.Among those honored for their humanitarian efforts: Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Dr. Donald Wilson; historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch; Maryland state Sen. Clarence Blount; and Chaplain Emeritus of Johns Hopkins University Chester Wickwire.

Seeking to boost confidence in the Maryland court system and make life easier for the everyday people it depends on -- jurors -- a group of top judges and lawyers will recommend sweeping changes tomorrow. Jurors who need day care for a child or elderly parent would get it. After a stressful trial, counseling would be available. Employers would be obligated to pay a juror's salary, no matter how long the case.Other, potentially controversial recommendations could have a more profound impact on a system that hasn't substantially changed in centuries.

JUDGES on Maryland's highest court, the Court of Appeals, and on the Court of Special Appeals, are appointed by the governor. Subsequently, they run in the election as sitting judges without opponents for retention to a 10-year term. A vacancy is created when a judge is rejected by voters.All the judges on the ballot this year have justified their appointments and deserve retention.The Sun recommends a vote FOR: Judges Alan M. Wilner and Dale R. Cathell on the Maryland Court of Appeals; and Judges Raymond G. Thieme, James A. Kenney III, Charles E. Moylan Jr., Andrew L. Sonner and Deborah S. Byrnes on the Court of Special Appeals.

COLLEGE PARK -- Junior college transfer Steve Francis and three freshmen won't be the only additions to Cole Field House this basketball season.The University of Maryland and a Baltimore-based bank are finalizing an agreement that would result in the first placement of corporate logos on the Cole Field House floor. It will be named the First National Bank of Maryland court.Neither party would discuss the value of the corporate sponsorship, but it is believed that Maryland will receive from $850,000 to $900,000 over the life of a three-year contract that would put two logos on the court.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has denied a new trial for a man who claimed that his lawyer should have done a better job of arguing that he was too addled by the drug PCP to have purposely killed a Baltimore police officer.Leonard P. Cirincione, 40, was convicted in 1987 of first-degree murder and related charges in the 1986 slaying of Officer Richard Miller, who was run down while directing traffic outside Memorial Stadium before an Orioles game. Cirincione is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years.

Charles Thelin "Bucky" Turner, a retired engineer and a history enthusiast, died of cancer Tuesday at his home. He was 79 and had lived in Roland Park since 1957.An engineer for Koppers Co. during the 1940s, he then joined his family's machinery and cast-iron foundry business, Flynn & Emrich Co., which dated from before the Civil War.Mr. Turner patented several innovations in machinery for the corrugated-box industry. He later worked for the associated Ward-Turner Co., which was formed to use his innovations.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to consider how long a criminal suspect's request for counsel during questioning can stand after a Maryland court ruled that years could pass. The decision will determine the level of protection from interrogation people can expect when under investigation and clear up confusion within lower courts, which have interpreted the law in various ways. "The courts are split, and that's why the Supreme Court needs to weigh in," said public defender Celia Anderson Davis, who's representing the convicted child molester at the center of the case.

Court says 2 Ehrlich aides must answer firing queries The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that two former state employees will have to answer questions posed by a special legislative committee that investigated whether former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. targeted longtime state employees for political firings. The committee issued its report two years ago on what were characterized as arbitrary and unfair personnel decisions by Ehrlich, a Republican, without answers to some questions from Gregory Maddalone and Craig Chesek.

Ex-state worker admits stealing $1.8 million A former Maryland state employee pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing nearly $1.8 million from a state health department kidney disease program. Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler says the former employee, Donna McRae Lam, took the money from the department's program in a scheme that lasted more than a decade. Gansler's office says that Lam added 14 fictitious health care providers to the program's computer system and filed 917 fake claims for payment.

Court adopts new rules on foreclosure The Maryland Court of Appeals adopted new foreclosure rules yesterday to conform to 2008 legislation that gives delinquent homeowners more notification and more time before their homes are sold. The court expedited the rulemaking process after the General Assembly passed emergency legislation that requires a lender to make a genuine effort to notify homeowners who are in arrears that their houses might be sold. Under the new law and court rules, lenders must provide homeowners with 45 days' written notice by certified or first-class mail, and they may not foreclose until 90 days after a default.

Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday the appointment of Judge Sally D. Adkins to the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Adkins, 58, has served for a decade on the Court of Special Appeals, the state's intermediate-level appellate court, and written more than 140 published opinions. She will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Dale R. Cathell, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Parris N. Glendening. She will represent the 1st Appellate Circuit for the Eastern Shore.

The reality of 21st century life is that it's difficult to define a family with children. Most people understand this. The most practical is a "know it when you see it" definition: One adult - or two adults in a loving and committed relationship - raising one or more kids. Leave aside matters of genetics, gender or marital status. But somehow this widespread social change has eluded the Maryland Court of Appeals, which this week has decided that there is no such thing as a de facto parent.

In a decision with broad ramifications for nontraditional families, Maryland's highest court ruled yesterday in favor of an adoptive mother who is seeking to deny her former partner visitation rights to a child that both had cared for during their relationship. The case deals with a lesbian couple, but it could affect step-parents and people in other kinds of relationships who have taken on parental roles but do not have biological or adoptive ties to a child. The Maryland Court of Appeals said that "de facto parenthood" is not recognized in Maryland and found that "exceptional" circumstances or a finding that a parent is unfit would be needed to overcome a legal parent's right to the care, control and custody of a child.

A Maryland court has ordered clothing retailer Talbots Inc. to pay $1.1 million in back state income tax, the latest victory in a long-standing campaign by Maryland to crack down on companies that avoid paying taxes by setting up Delaware holding corporations. The Maryland Tax Court ruled that Talbots owed the money for income taxes from 1993 to 2003. Talbots set up a subsidiary in Delaware called Classics Chicago to reduce its corporate income taxes. "The vast majority of Maryland businesses are playing by the rules, and we will not allow a few large corporations to gain an unfair competitive advantage by flouting our tax laws," Comptroller Peter Franchot said yesterday.

The state's highest court ruled yesterday that a man can be charged with rape if he ignores a woman's calls to stop - even if she had previously consented to sex. With this expansion of the legal definition of rape, Maryland joins seven other states whose courts have determined that a woman can revoke her consent after intercourse begins. "This goes to the heart of women's autonomy," said Lisae C. Jordan, legal director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which filed a brief in the matter.

Alexander Lacy Cummings, former longtime clerk of the Maryland Court of Appeals who retired last month because of illness, died Tuesday of prostate cancer at his Towson home. He was 66. Before Mr. Cummings became the 25th clerk of the Court of Appeals in 1983, he had served in the Maryland attorney general's office, which he joined in 1971, as an assistant attorney general. As chief deputy of the criminal appeals and correctional litigation division, Mr. Cummings argued between 700 and 800 criminal appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Maryland Court of Appeals and the state's Court of Special Appeals.