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Article 5. Application of common law and statutes of England; trial by jury

West's Annotated Code of MarylandConstitution of Maryland Adopted by Convention of 1867Effective: December 14, 2022

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Constitution of Maryland Adopted by Convention of 1867
Declaration of Rights
Effective: December 14, 2022
MD Constitution, Declaration of Rights, Art. 5
Article 5. Application of common law and statutes of England; trial by jury
Currentness
(a)(1) That the Inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the Common Law of England, and the trial by Jury, according to the course of that Law, and to the benefit of such of the English statutes as existed on the Fourth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six; and which, by experience, have been found applicable to their local and other circumstances, and have been introduced, used and practiced by the Courts of Law or Equity; and also of all Acts of Assembly in force on the first day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven; except such as may have since expired, or may be inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution; subject, nevertheless, to the revision of, and amendment or repeal by, the Legislature of this State. And the Inhabitants of Maryland are also entitled to all property derived to them from, or under the Charter granted by His Majesty Charles the First to Caecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore.
(2) Legislation may be enacted that limits the right to trial by jury in civil proceedings to those proceedings in which the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000.
(b) The parties to any civil proceeding in which the right to a jury trial is preserved are entitled to a trial by jury of at least 6 jurors.
(c) That notwithstanding the Common Law of England, nothing in this Constitution prohibits trial by jury of less than 12 jurors in any civil proceeding in which the right to a jury trial is preserved.

Credits

Acts 1992, c. 203, ratified Nov. 3, 1992; Acts 1992, c. 204, ratified Nov. 3, 1992. Amended by Acts 2006, c. 422, § 1, ratified Nov. 7, 2006; Acts 2010, c. 480, § 1, ratified Nov. 2, 2010; Acts 2021, c. 809, § 1, ratified Nov. 8, 2022, eff. Dec. 14, 2022.
MD Constitution, Declaration of Rights, Art. 5, MD CONST DECL OF RIGHTS, Art. 5
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document