TO LOGIN:
Just go to the Home Page and enter your unique login and password, if you are a subscriber.

TO LOGOUT:
Just go the Home Page from wherever you are, in the website, or click on the "Logout" page.

TO SUBSCRIBE:
Just go to the Home Page and click "Subscribe" or you may click the "Subscribe" link on the Home Page, and you will be taken to the Subscriber's Page--
Choose your login and password, enter your contact information, if you are a law firm: enter law firm name and type of practice (you can type 'general practice' in this space), billing name and address, and also credit card information.

You will be alerted when your one-year subcription is up, ahead of time, as to the current subcription rate (at that time) and you can cancel at that time, otherwise your subcription will renew automatically.

TO USE HOURLY RATE ACCESS FEATURE

Just go to the Home Page and click "Hourly Rate Access," and you will be taken to the Hourly Rate Access page. No subscription is required, and no login or password is needed. Just fill out the information, including your email, and fill out the credit card information.

The way that the Hourly Rate Access feature works is that you "deposit" a certain amount from your credit card ($20), BUT upon logout ("Logout and Pay") you only pay for the time used when on the site--calculated at $10 per hour, that means that for 15 minutes the charge will be only $2.50. On your online credit card statement the charge is listed as "pending $20" but typically in three or four calendar days, the charge will convert to only the time used.

Also, the 2 hour time limit for access to Maryland Decisions via the hourly rate access feature, is PER SESSION (that is, it's not 2 hours of access time for any single person, permanently). The hourly rate access feature can be used multiple times for any single person-- however, a given credit card cannot be used twice in a given calendar day (as a security feature). 

This is an excellent means of accessing Maryland Decisions without a subscription and for a very low rate. Note: the system only keeps names and email addresses of hourly rate users.

CALLING UP A MARYLAND DECISIONS CASE

There are multiple ways of calling up a given Maryland Decisions case, once you have logged in to the site (by subcription or hourly rate access):

--“Cases” page: this page lists all cases posted in sequential order, and the opinion date (the last listing is the posted date, that is, the date that the case was posted or updated on the site). Clicking on the case name or the Maryland Decisions cite, will pull up that case. This is the fastest way to call up a case when you already know which cases to read or print out.

--“Statutes” page: this page list all cases, again in sequential order, by Maryland Decisions cite and what statute, rule, or regulation was construed in the opinion. Again, clicking on the Maryland Decisions cite, will pull up that case.

--“Cases Description” page: this page lists a brief summary of every posted case, by topic, and lists the court, judge, and if the case was on appeal from the District Court or from an administrative agency, the appeal result. Put the Maryland Decisions cite-- the year of the case is not required (but preferred)-- in the “search” bar at the top of that page, hit "Go," and the headnotes of that case will appear along with the case name, clicking on the case name will pull the case up. This is a very useful feature if you are searching for a given case in your research, and you don’t want to search the entire headnote grid/ directory. Also, the keyword feature works on this page as well.

--“Directory / Headnote Grid” page: the Directory/ Headnote Grid works in four ways:

           >Searching through the Directory: you can search the Directory for an opinion that matches the Directory topic, by clicking on that topic. If there is no opinion, it will say “no opinion.” If there is an opinion, the topic will list the subtopic(s), clicking on that subtopic, will call the headnote of that subtopic up, and clicking on the case will pull the case up.

            >Using the Keyword Feature: You can use the keyword feature to get several headnotes at a time, for example, “Appeals” will bring up several cases dealing with appeals and cases discussing appeals. (E.g. In re: Erin P. Maloney, 1 Md. Dec. 430 (2013)). A variety of keywords can be used—if no match can be found using a particular keyword, the Directory will note that.

            >Using the Case Name Feature: If you know the case name--or a portion of the case name--putting that in the search line, will pull up the headnotes of that case (or those cases), and clicking on the particular case name, will pull the case up. The system does not require a complete case name.

            >Using the Maryland Decisions Cite Feature: If you know the case citation (or a portion of the citation, that is, the year of the case is not required—but preferred) putting that in the search line, will pull up the headnotes of that case, and clicking on the case name, will pull the case up. Again, the system does not require a complete citation.

MY ACCOUNT:
Gives you user information, billing information, law firm name and type, and credit card information. You can also use this page to update your credit card information, change credit card information, change your password, or update your mailing address.

JUDGES:
Gives you a list of the judges who have written an opinion posted on Maryland Decisions.

CASES:
Gives you a list of cases, the opinion date, the date posted on Maryland Decisions, and other data. As with the judges, you can click on any case to get the opinion.

STATUTES:
Gives you a list of statutes or rules construed in a given opinion. You can click on the information to get a given opinion.

Also, you can go from JUDGES, to CASES, to STATUTES, or the reverse, with a click.

CASES--DESCRIPTION:

Gives you a thumbnail description of every case that is posted on Maryland Decisions and the main topic of that case, as well as the Md. Dec. cite, and whether it is an Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) or a Circuit Court case (and in that case, the name of the Circuit Court). Typing the Md. Dec. cite --with the year-- in the search line will give you the headnotes of that case, and clicking on the opinion link with give you the opinion. You can use your brower's back button to type in another Md. Dec. cite.

CASE HISTORY:
For each case--the case history lists whether an appeal is taken, is currently pending, the results of the appeal (and in the event of a Court of Special Appeals opinion, whether that opinion is reported or unreported; the Court of Appeals opinions are always reported), the cite if the opinion is reported, whether certiorari has been sought, the results of a certiorari petition, if there is a Court of Appeals opinion, and the cite of that opinion.

The listing for the case history (if "pending") is updated each week.

The case history for each opinion appears in the listing of headnotes of the opinion. That is, at the top of the Headnote Grid/Directory, in the Search feature, type in the Maryland Decisions cite (with the year/date of the opinion) and the headnotes for the opinion will appear, AND also the case history.

CITATION:
If you know the Maryland Decisions case that you want, you can skip the Directory, just type the citation in the upper right, in the Headnote Grid (Directory) page or the Cases-Description page, and you will be redirected to all headnotes for that opinion, you can click any one of the headnotes to get the opinion.

HEADNOTE GRID or DIRECTORY:
You can find pertinent opinions through the Directory. The first page of the Directory (Headnote Grid) gives you the entire list of topics found on Maryland Decisions. To look at a particular topic, click on that topic. The topic will now give you a subcategory for a headnote--click on that subcategory to get the headnotes for that subcategory, for cases that you may find pertinent. To look at a given case, just click on the headnote. (If there no opinions in that topic as yet, clicking on that topic will reveal, "No Opinions.")

You can move from cases to topic in the Directory by the back and forward buttons of your browser, or use the Directory icon to get you to the Directory (Headnote Grid).

For example: Discovery --Generally--Summary Judgment--
if you click on that phrase, that will give you the case of Smith v. United Services Automobile, 1 Md.Dec. 1 (2001) (OAH Opinion).

For example: Divorce--Actions and Claims--
if you click on that phrase, that you give you a headnote Counter Petition Was Timely and that will give you the case of Harrah v. Harrah, 1 Md.Dec. 18 (2003).

For example: Appeals--MD Circuit Courts--Circuit Court Review--
if you click on the phrase, you will find a headnote about Circuit Court review in an appellate capacity in the case of Chade Fashions v. Beauty.com, 1 Md.Dec. 43 (2006).

Easily go back to the Directory by using the back button of your browser or just click on the Directory icon.

Special Note: This headnote grid or directory does not use headnote numbers (for example: Courts 113.5) and posts a minimum of headnotes for every case. So, not every legal expression found in a case will be headnoted, instead the service concentrates on "result-oriented" headnotes and summaries for easy access to cases that are the subject of your search.

So a case in Maryland Decisions would not have a headnote that "intent is an element of a contract," for example. Maryland Decisions believes that the legal essence in a given case is what attorneys find pertinent to their research. So there are, in the main, four or five headnotes (maximum) to a given case, dealing with that case. Also, headnotes are broader and are written in multi-sentence form.

PRINT:
All the Maryland Decisions opinions are printable.

SUBMIT OPINIONS:
All subscribers, attoneys and judges, can submit opinions for consideration as to posting on the site.
Opinions can be submitted by e-mail--  mddecisions@earthlink.net  -- (in ".doc" or ".pdf") or the opinion can be sent to:
Maryland Decisions,P.O. Box 20399, Baltimore, MD 21284.

The opinion must include (if not already included): the case caption, the case number and the date.

(Opinions mailed must be copies. Materials submitted can not be returned).