08-25-2024 Guidebook - Flipbook - Page 45
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PUBLIC LIFE
ON THE DOCKET
Navigating Anne Arundel District and Circuit courts
By Luke Parker
If you got a traffic ticket, are embroiled
in a dispute with your landlord or were
charged with a misdemeanor crime, you
likely will have to appear in one of the
district courts in Anne Arundel County.
They’re located at 251 Rowe Blvd. in
Annapolis and 7500 Gov. Ritchie Hwy.
in Glen Burnie. These courts have jurisdiction over a number of other matters,
including replevin, which is the process
of provisionally obtaining your seized
property while the rights to it are sorted
out, as well as small claims lawsuits
involving claims of $5,000 or less.
Felony crimes and other various
lawsuits and proceedings, like marriage
licensing, are handled in the Circuit
Court for Anne Arundel County, located
at 8 Church Circle in Annapolis.
The circuit courthouse is also home
to the Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s
Office, a law enforcement agency tasked
with serving warrants and court paperwork as well as providing security at the
courthouse.
The county’s Orphans’ Court and
Office of the Register of Wills moved
out of the circuit courthouse in July
2022. Both are now located at 2011 E
Commerce Park Drive in Annapolis.
To find out more about the county’s
circuit courthouse visit circuitcourt.org.
The Circuit Court website provides a
number of avenues for people in need of
legal assistance, whether to check their
eligibility for representation by a public
defender in a criminal case, want to get
Maryland Legal Aid’s help in a housing
matter, need a lawyer’s input on a civil
case or just need to do some research at
the People’s Law Library.
The site will also guide you on other
services provided at the courthouse,
like applying for a passport or a business
license. Also, you can check what’s on the
docket for each courtroom that day.
The Office of the Public Defender for
Anne Arundel County is headquartered
in Annapolis, though it has branches
in both district courts. Find out more
about the county branch of the Office of
the Public Defender at opd.state.md.us/
anne-arundel.
The Anne Arundel County State’s
The Anne Arundel County Court House in Annapolis, home of the circuit court. JEFFREY F. BILL/STAFF
Attorney’s Office prosecutes crimes in
Annapolis and the county. It’s headquartered in the circuit court, but has offices in
both district courts. For more information
about the State’s Attorney’s Office you can
visit: aacounty.org/departments/sao.
All of the county’s courts are open
Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.
Citizens looking to review information about court cases may do so through
the Maryland Judiciary’s Case Search
website at casesearch.courts.state.md.us/
casesearch. This online tool allows users
to review criminal and civil cases filed
in the court system with information on
upcoming court dates, charges, attorneys,
judges and bail status.
Though open and closed civil cases
are available to search, only open and
convicted criminal cases will appear on
Case Search. If a defendant is found not
guilty, the case will be expunged and
unavailable to review through the judiciary.
At any courthouse in Anne Arundel
County and most throughout the state,
citizens can review documents filed in
a case through the Maryland Electronic
Court system. Unlike Case Search, when
logged into a court computer, documents
related to charges, court decisions or
correspondence are available to view
and print. The courts charge 50 cents per
page and only accept cash payments.
Some courts have MDEC-accessible
computers in their law libraries; the best
way to locate a computer, however, is to
ask an attendant at an information desk.
Citizens may also request audio or written transcripts of Anne Arundel court cases
by filling out a form at circuitcourt.org/
component/rsform/form/3-transcript-request-form. Be sure to specify which day or
days you’d like a transcript for.
CD recordings cost $35 per disc and
are available for hearings held after July
1, 1999, and one CD is produced for each
court date.
Readable transcripts generally cost
much more money, with standard prices
for a 30-minute hearing ranging just
more than $100 and a full day of proceedings averaging a cost of $1,350.
