JURIST - Maryland

On May 19, 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed a bill requiring French railroad company SNCF to disclose information regarding its participation in the Jewish Holocaust. SNCF was accused of transporting 76,000 Jews and other prisoners from Paris to Germany from 1942 to 1944. In October 20....... [more]

On May 8, 2012, North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage, bringing the number of states with constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage to thirty-one. Since then, Maine, Maryland and Washington have voted to legalize same-sex marriage. In April 2....... [more]

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley on Thursday signed into law a bill to repeal the death penalty. The legislation, which makes Maryland the eighteenth US state to repeal the death penalty, was approved by the state legislature in March. Prior to the bill, Maryland's capital punishment laws were amon....... [more]

The Maryland Senate on Monday voted 42-4 to approve a bill legalizing medical marijuana programs at participating research centers. The bill was approved by the state's House of Delegates in a 108-28 vote last month. The bill would establish the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission, which....... [more]

The Maryland Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that imposes tougher restrictions on obtaining a license to buy a firearm and bans certain types of rifles. Scheduled to go into effect October 1 of this year, the new law will limit magazines to 10 bullets and will ban 45 types of semiau....... [more]

On March 28, 2008, the State Senate of Maryland passed a bill altering the way the state allocates its presidential electoral votes. The bill committed to allocating the states' electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. This is in opposition to the standard procedure of the US Elec....... [more]

The Maryland Senate on Monday voted 29-18 to approve a bill that would substantially expand the availability of driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants residing in the state. To be eligible to receive a driver's license, the applicant must provide proof of having filed Maryland state income tax....... [more]

The Maryland House of Delegates on Monday approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana by a vote of 108-28. The bill would also create a state commission to manage medical marijuana programs at participating academic medical research centers. While the amount of distribution centers that would be c....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday that Maryland can require concealed-carry handgun permit applicants to provide a "good and substantial reason" for wanting to carry a gun outside the home. The three-judge panel unanimously overturned a 2012 district court ruling finding....... [more]

The Maryland Senate on Tuesday voted 30-16 in favor of a bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Sponsored by Democratic Senator Robert Zirkin and Republican Senator Allan Kittleman, Senate Bill 297 seeks to lower the penalty for possession of less than 10 grams of t....... [more]

The Maryland House of Delegates on Friday voted 82-56 to ban the death penalty in Maryland. Senate Bill 276 seeks to repeal "the death penalty and all provisions relating to it," and will prescribe sentences of life imprisonment for individuals convicted of first degree murder. Prior to Senate Bill....... [more]