Queen Anne's Cnty. Cir. Ct. Family 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.

It is the goal of this plan to ensure that all domestic matters be concluded within the Case

Time Standards adopted by the Judicial Council, Constitutional requirements and applicable Md.

Rules. To achieve this goal, the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County is committed to

resolving different categories of cases within a regular and predictable time frame warranted by

the needs of those cases.

The Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County recognizes the importance of providing all

litigants in domestic cases with prompt, fair access to justice. The family services coordinator is

an invaluable resource in providing that access. The family services coordinator aides the judge

and the magistrate by compiling and maintaining a list of all family-centered services available

in the community, coordinating and monitoring resource referrals made by the judge and the

magistrate and informing the judge and the magistrate when a need arises for additional family-centered services.