Baltimore City Cir. Ct. Criminal DCM Plan 9

and felony case load is increasing or decreasing.

Criminal Clerk’s Office

Under authority of the Clerk for the Circuit Court, the Criminal Division of the Clerk’s Office

processes and maintains all case i nformation. The Criminal Clerk’s Off ice also is sues all

notices/summons/writs for all case hearings and trials. Although this is a very short summary of

the enormous effort expended by the Clerk’s Office, the Clerk’s Office duties are critical to the

success of the Criminal DCM Plan.

Criminal Assignment Office

The Criminal Assignment Office (CAO) operates under the authority of the Clerk for the Circuit

Court. The CAO schedules all initial appearances, hearings and trials and the postponement of such

case events in accordance with the case time standards. The CAO is also crucial to the success of

the Criminal DCM Plan.

TRACK DESIGNATIONS

All criminal cases follow one of four distinct tracks to resolution. Tracks are based on the expected

complexity of the case.

Track A – Simple Cases

All jury trial prayers and appeals from the District Court will be assigned to Track A by the Clerk’s

Office.

After a demand for jury trial is made in the District Court, Defense Counsel will email the State’s

Attorney’s MJT unit to confer on proposed dates with the assigned Assistant State’s Attorney (“ASA”).

When dates are selected, t he ASA will email a completely filled out “Misdemeanor Criminal Trial

Schedule Form” (Appendix 1) to Criminal Assignment staff and they will a ssign a trial date within 30

days. Criminal Track A – Jury Trial Prayers have a disposition2 goal of 90 days.

All misdemeanors received from the District Court after appeal are assigned a trial date within 30 days

after the appeal is filed. Criminal Track A – District Court Appeals also have a disposition goal of 90

days.

Track B – Regular Cases

Cases involving non-violent crimes3 are assigned to Track B by the State’s Attorney Office (SAO) upon

the filing of an indictment or information with the Clerk’s Office. Criminal Track B cases will receive a

trial date within 60 to 90 days of the initial appearance date. Criminal Track B – Regular Cases have a

disposition goal of 120 days.

Track C – Serious Cases

Cases involving violent crimes are assigned to Track C by the SAO upon the filing of an indictm ent or

information with the Clerk’s Office. Criminal Track C cases will have a pretrial conference conducted by

the JICCr 75 to 90 days after the initial appearance date and will receive a trial date within 120 to 135 days

of the initial appearance date. Criminal Track C – Serious Cases have a disposition goal of 150 days.

Track D – Complex Cases

Cases involving a homicide, multiple victims and/or multiple defendants are assigned to Track D by the

SAO. Criminal Track D cases will have a pretrial conference conducted by the JICCr 105- 120 days

after the initial appearance date and will rece ive a trial date wi thin 135 to 160 days of the initial

appearance date. Criminal Track D – Complex Cases have a disposition goal of 180 days.

Table 1.1 – Criminal Tracks

Track Case types Expected Case Duration and Notes

Track A

Simple Cases

Jury trial prayers from District

Court, District Court Appeals

90 days to disposition.

Track B

Regular Cases

Non-violent felony charge(s) 120 days to disposition.

Cases downgraded to a

misdemeanor remain Track B.

Track C

Serious Cases

Violent felony charge(s) 150 days to disposition.

Track D

Complex Cases

Homicide charge(s), multiple

victims, multiple defendants.

180 days to disposition.

2 “Disposition” means dismissal, stet, or guilty finding.

3 Depending on its complexity, any case may be upgraded for a more realistic disposition goal.

CASE EVENTS AND PROCEDURES

Circuit Court criminal cases can be initiated by the filing of a jury trial prayer/appeal from District

Court, or an information or indictment. Most misdemeanor cases reach the Circuit Court after a

jury trial prayer in District Court, and most felony cases are initiated by indictment. The first case

event in the Circuit Court is the filing of either a jury trial prayer or an appeal in the District Court

(Track A) or the filing of a criminal information or indictment in the Circuit Court (Tracks B, C,

D). A charging document filed in the Circuit Court may be:

1. A District Court charging document for an offense on which the defendant demands a

jury trial or appeal (Track A below);4

2. An indictment (see Tracks B, C, and D below);

3. An information (see Tracks B, C, and D below).

Table 1.2 – Criminal Case Events by Track

Track A – Simple Cases: Jury Trial Prayers and Appeals from District Court

Case Event Timing

Case Initiation Jury trial prayer/appeal from District Court.

Initial Appearance Not required.

Discovery See Rules 4-301(c) 4-262(i) and 4-263(h) – Discovery is

expected at the District Court level.

Trial Date5 Within 30 days of jury trial prayer.

Within 30 days of filing of appeal.

Sentencing (if guilty) Same day.

Track B – Regular Cases: Non-Violent Felony

Case Event Timing

Case Initiation Filing of Information/Indictment in Circuit Court.

Initial Appearance – if necessary Within 37 days of filing of Information/Indictment in

Circuit Court.

Discovery See Rule 4-263(h) – within 30 days after the earlier

of appearance of counsel or the first appearance of

the defendant.

Trial Date Within 60 – 90 days of the initial appearance date

Sentencing (if guilty) Usually same day, or within 90 days if presentence

investigation is ordered pursuant to Rule 4-341.

4 See Rule 4-201(c)(3).

5 As required by Rule 4-271(a), the date for all trials is set within 30 days after the earlier of the appearance of counsel or the

first appearance of the defendant before the Court.

Track C – Serious Cases: Violent Felony

Case Event Timing

Case Initiation Filing of Information/Indictment in Circuit Court.

Initial Appearance – if necessary Within 37 days of filing of Information/Indictment in

Circuit Court.

Discovery See Rule 4-263(h) – within 30 days after the earlier of

appearance of counsel or the first appearance of the

defendant.

Pre-Trial Conference Conducted by the JICCr 75 – 90 days after the initial

appearance date.

Trial Date Within 120 – 135 days of the initial appearance date.

Sentencing (if guilty) Usually same day, or within 90 days if presentence

investigation is ordered pursuant to Rule 4-341.

Track D – Complex Cases: Homicides, Multi-victim, Multi-defendant

Case Event Timing

Case Initiation Filing of Information/Indictment in Circuit Court.

Initial Appearance – if necessary Within 37 days of filing of Information/Indictment in

Circuit Court.

Discovery See Rule 4-263(h) – within 30 days after the earlier of

appearance of counsel or the first appearance of the

defendant.

Pre–Trial Conference Conducted by the JICCr 105 – 120 days after the

initial appearance date. Additional pre-trial

conferences will be conducted by the trial court judge

as needed.

Trial Date Within 135 to 160 days of the initial appearance date.

Sentencing (if guilty) Usually same day, or within 90 days if presentence

investigation is ordered pursuant to Rule 4-341.

Initial Appearance

No initial appearance is held for jury trial prayers or appeals from District Court. For all other cases, upon

the filing of the indictment/information, the SAO provides the Clerk’s Office with the following:

a. Case Number;

b. Proposed Initial Appearance Date;

c. Proposed Track for case; and

d. Three proposed trial dates.

Once the Clerk’s Office enters the case into the Court’s data management system, the CAO will

set the initial appearance date and the ap pearance deadline/rem oval d ate for the initial appearance

docket.6

The tracks for felonies and misdemeanors charged by indictment/information are as follows:

i. Track B – Regular – Non-violent cases – Track B cases are given trial dates between 60 and

90 days from appearance date to comply with the 120 day time standard.

ii. Track C – Serious – Violent cases – Track C cases are given trial dates between 120 and

135 days from appearance date to comply with the 150 day time standard.

iii. Track D – Complex – Homicides, multi–victim, multi-defendant cases – Track D cases are

given trial dates between 135 and 160 days from appearance date to comply with the 180

day time standard.

Criminal Assignment will set all indictment/information cases on the proposed Initial Appearance date in

Part 46 Reception Court (“Part 46” or “Reception Court”). Initial Appearances will be held daily at 9:30

a.m. for unrepresented defendants only.

Upon accepting representation, Defense Counsel shall file with the Clerk’s Office an (1) entry of

appearance, AND (2) a written plea pursuant to Rule 4- 242(b), AND (3) Defense C ounsel or the State

shall email a completely filled out “Criminal Trial Schedule Form” (Appendix 2) to Criminal Assignment

Staff. Criminal Assignment will set the trial date in Part 46 and send trial notices to all counsel. The

fillable Criminal Trial Schedule Form is posted on the Baltimore City Circuit Court website under

“Resources for Attorneys” on the Criminal Division webpage.

If the foregoing steps are completed, defense counsel, the defendant, and the State’s Attorney will not be

required to appear on the Initial Appearance date.

If no entry of appearance is filed by the day before the initial appearance, the defendant must appear on

the Initial Appearance date to be advised of right to counsel, charges, and penalties and be assigned a trial

date within the time window for the specific track assigned to the case.

Discovery

Due to the fact that cases are not assigned to a specific judge, the Court has designated a “Discovery Judge”

to resolve all discovery related motions and pleadings.7 The Clerk’s Office screens incoming pleadings

for all motions and pleadings that are discovery related. The Clerk’s Office will then assign a time period

for the response or opposition to the motion/pleading such as:

1. 5 days for Motions to Compel;

2. 15 days for Motions for Sanctions;

3. 15 days for Motions for Protective Order; and

4. 15 days for Motions for Deposition of Witness.

6 The Appearance Deadline/removal Date is the day before the initial appearance.

7 For the same reason, the JICCr assigns other additional duties to the General Trial Court Judges.

Once the time period for response or opposition has expired, and if it is more than 7 days before the trial

date, the Clerk’s Office will forward the discovery motion or pleading to the Discovery Judge for review

and ruling. If it is le ss than 7 days before the trial date, the Clerk’s Office will forward the discovery

motion or pleading to the Discovery Judge as soon as possible.

If the Discovery Judge determines that a hearing is necessary, the Discovery Judge’s staff will contact the

Assistant State’s Attorney and defense counsel to schedule a hearing date prior to the assigned trial date.

If the Discovery Judge issues a protective order tying the timing of dis closures to the tr ial date, the

Discovery Judge will order all counsel to submit a request for a specially set trial along with a copy of the

Protective Order to the JICCr. The case will then be specially assigned on a specific date to a trial court

judge so that the protective order can be implemented.

Scheduling – Motions

Trial Judges will be specially assigned motions from the Reception Court by the JI CCr. Judges will be

assigned to this docket for one month, and no more than four in person motions will be assigned per day.

Counsel will email the JICCr’s law clerk, after filing a timely motion pursuant to Rule 4-252, requesting a

motions hearing date. Judges will preside over Motions to Dismiss, Daubert Motions, Motions to Suppress,

and Joinder Motions. If a motion is denied, counsel shall report to the Reception Court the next business

day to schedule a trial date. If a motion is granted and the State does not nolle pros the case, counsel shall

report to the Reception Court the next business day to schedule a trial date. An email shall be sent by the

motions judge’s law clerk to the JICCr, the JICCr’s Administrative Assistant, the JICCr’s law clerk,

Criminal Assignment, the Clerk’s Office, the Associate Administrator, Research Analyst, and the

Administrative Judge’s administrative assistants upon the completion of the motion with the Court’s ruling.

All other motions will be handled by the trial judge.

Scheduling – Trial Dates

All Track A cases are assigned to the misdemeanor Reception Court and scheduled f or trial. Track B

cases are scheduled for trial outside of felony Reception Court. Track C and D c ases are assigned to the

felony Reception Court for a pretrial conference. If a plea or other disposition of the case is not reached,

or the case is not postponed for good cause, the case is scheduled to one of the trial courts for trial.

As noted above, the Court maintains a trial calendar, which sets out the availability of the trial courts and

recalled judges. The trial calendar is updated in real time so that the Reception Court judge is always

aware of open trial courts.

Postponements

The Court’s postponement policy is strict and consistent across all four tracks in order to comply with time

standards. As required by Rule 4-271, the Court will deny requests for postponements unle ss “good

cause” is shown. Good cause reasons are illustrated in Appendix 3, Criminal Postponement Form. Further,

decisions to postpone any case including cases transferred to the Court from the District Court after a jury

trial prayer are made by a judge designated by the Administrative Judge as required by Rule 16-105(d)(2),

which typically is the JICCr. All postponement requests and Hicks waivers are considered by the j udge

on the record and memorialized on the standard postponement form by Criminal Assignment and signed

by the judge. See (Appendix 3).

Advance postponements are not accepted for felony cases, misdemeanor jury trial prayer cases, or District

Court appeals.

Specially Set Cases

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City has a high volume of Track C and D – Serious and Complex Cases.

Due to the natu re of such cases, both the State and the defense have historically requested multiple

postponements. Any request to postpone a priority felony trial or a case already specially set must be

approved by the JICCr as designated by the Administrative Judge pursuant to Rule 16-105(d)(2).

Specialized Courts

The Court has two specialized courts: Drug Treatment Court (DTC) and Mental Health Court (MHC).

The DTC is presided over by a sitting judge and the MHC is presided over by a senior judge.

DTC referral may be made on the Court’s own initiative or by an ASA, Assistant Public Defender, or

defense counsel to the Drug Court Coordinator. Potential referrals are then screened and assessed by the

offices of the State’s Attorney, Public Defender, Parole and Probation and Behavioral Health System

Baltimore. Defendants with pending cases or violation of probation cases are referred to the DTC after

assessment for eligibility. Defendants with pending cases plead guilty in DTC and defendants with violation

of probation cases will have the probation transferred to the DTC judge.

The MHC handles two tracks of cases: competency/N ot Criminally Responsible (“NCR”) and

treatment/probation. The MHC sits one day per week and oversees the referred cases until the NCR plea

is resolved or until the defendant’s competency is established. The Court may refer a defendant to the

MHC for a possible plea and supervision by sending a completed referral form to the MHC.

APPENDIX 1

STATE OF MARYLAND * IN THE

* CIRCUIT COURT

v.

* FOR

* BALTIMORE CITY

Defendant

* Case No.(s):

* * * * * * * * * * * *

TRACK A CRIMINAL TRIAL SCHEDULING FORM1

The following dates were agreed to by counsel having entered an appearance and a written plea of not guilty pursuant to Rule 4-

242 (b)(3):

Part 1: To be completed by the prosecutor and defendant (or defendant’s representative)

Track: A

1. Proposed Trial Dates (pick three)2:

2. The Trial is estimated to take day(s) before a Jury.

3. I have a case scheduled in Part 47 on this date: Yes Case No. (s) ______________

______________________________________________________________________________________

CERTIFICATION

This is to acknowledge that this Criminal Trial Schedule has been agreed to by the parties and a copy has been sent to

all parties.

State: Email:

Address:

[Include City/State/Zip code]

Phone:

Defense: Email:

Address:

[Include City/State/Zip code]

Phone:

Part 2: To be completed by Criminal Assignment3

Trial Date will be held on: day of, 20

1 This form is formerly the "Misdemeanor Criminal Trial Schedule Form". Track A cases are defined as jury trial prayers and

District Court appeals.

2 Per the DCM plan and local MDEC configurations, trial dates should be 30 days after filing date.

3 The Court will issue a notice and/or summons to notify all parties of the trial date. The Court reserves the right to select a

trial date if: a. the form is not submitted within 8 days of the filing date; b. if the docket cap is exceeded; or c. if the proposed

trial dates are outside of the DCM track plan. Revised Date: 4/2/24

APPENDIX 2

STATE OF MARYLAND * IN THE

v.

Defendant

* CIRCUIT COURT

* FOR

* BALTIMORE CITY

* Case No(s).:

* * * * * * * * * * * *

TRACK B, C & D CRIMINAL TRIAL SCHEDULING FORM1

The following dates were agreed to by counsel having entered an appearance and a written plea of not guilty pursuant to Rule 4-242 (b)(3):

Part 1: To be completed by the prosecutor and defendant (or defendant’s representative)

1. Proposed Trial Dates (pick 3)2:

2. The Trial is estimated to take days before a Jury.

3. Proposed Pretrial Conference Dates

before the Judge in Charge of Criminal,

or designated Part3:

at 8:45 a.m.

4. The Hicks/Speedy Trial Date:

5. I have a case scheduled in Part 45 or 46 on this date: Yes/No Case No.

CERTIFICATION

This is to acknowledge that this Criminal Trial Schedule has been agreed to by the parties and a copy has been sent to all

parties.

State: Email:

Address:

[Include City/State/Zip code]

Phone:

Defense: Email:

Address:

[Include City/State/Zip code] Phone: ___________________________________

Part 2: To be completed by Criminal Assignment4

Track B: The Trial Date will be held on: day of, 20.

Tracks C & D: The Pretrial Conference will be held on: day of, 20.

1This form is formerly the "Criminal Trial Schedule Form". Tracks B, C and D are defined as: non-violent felonies, violent felonies and

complex felonies; respectively.

2Per the DCM plan and local MDEC configurations Track B cases will be given trial dates within 90 days of the initial appearance date.

3Per the DCM plan and local MDEC configurations, Track C cases will be given pretrial conference dates within date and track D cases will be

given pretrial conference dates within 120 days of the initial appearance date.

4The Court will issue a notice and/or summons to notify all parties of the trial date. The Court reserves the right to select a trial date if: a. the

form is not submitted within 1 day of the initial appearance date; b. if the docket cap is exceeded; or c. if the proposed dates are outside of

the DCM track plan. Revised date 4/2/24

.

Track B Track C Track D

APPENDIX 3