Queen Anne's Cnty. Cir. Ct. Criminal DCM Plan (introduction)

Md. Rule 16-302(a) provides that the county administrative judge shall supervise the

assignment of actions for trial in a manner that maximizes the efficient use of available judicial

personnel, brings pending actions to trial, and disposes of them as expeditiously as feasible.

Md. Rule 16-302(b)(1)(A) mandates that the county administrative judge shall develop

and, upon approval by the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, implement a case management

plan for the prompt and efficient scheduling and disposition of actions in the circuit court. The

plan shall include a system of differentiated case management in which actions are classified

according to complexity and priority and are assigned to a scheduling category based on that

classification. This plan serves as a guide to the management of cases in Queen Anne’s County.

The provisions set forth in this plan are intended to serve as a general guideline for the

processing of cases which come before the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County. However,

the provisions are not intended to be rigid, given that circumstances related to any particular case

may require flexibility to ensure fairness. Additionally, this plan is prepared within the confines

of case time standards and the plan does not purport to override any requirements of the Md.

Rules or the Annotated Code of Maryland.

The goal of this plan is to exceed the accepted Time Standards as adopted by the

Maryland Judiciary, to wit: 98% of all cases are completed within 180 days of the defendant’s

first appearance in the Circuit Court or the filing of an entry of appearance by counsel,

whichever is later, and to provide a general outline of the court’s process for scheduling. To

ensure that criminal prosecutions meet this goal and proceed to conclusion in a timely manner

without unnecessary burden to court staff and public resources, including jurors, and without

delay relating to pleadings, discovery and court events, the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s

County will control the pace of the litigation and will require counsel to cooperate with the court

and each other and respect the essential time elements of the process. Cases are to be prepared

by the participants to meet hearing and/or trial dates as originally assigned.

The Assignment Office shall provide on the calendar maintained in accordance of this

Administrative Order a sufficient number of days to provide for prompt trial of criminal actions

in accordance with this Part. The “Court Schedule” will be published on the Circuit Court

website and updated from time to time by the Assignment Office. All criminal cases filed or

otherwise received in the Office of the Clerk of Court shall be referred to the Assignment Office

for instructions relating to scheduling calendar events. The Assignment Office shall provide

instructions for entering calendar events on the Court Schedule.

The Court Schedule will designate certain specific dates for assignment of criminal

matters, as follows:

Criminal Motions, Dispositions,

First and Third Fridays