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RULE 16-933. DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

West's Annotated Code of MarylandMaryland RulesEffective: August 1, 2020

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Maryland Rules
Title 16. Court Administration
Chapter 900. Access to Judicial Records
Division 4. Resolution of Disputes
Effective: August 1, 2020
MD Rules, Rule 16-933
RULE 16-933. DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
Currentness
(a) Generally.
(1) Right to File. If a custodian or SCA denies a request for inspection of a judicial record or for the creation of a new judicial record, fails to respond to such a request within the time allowed by these Rules for a response, or proposes to charge a fee for the inspection or creation of judicial records that the requester believes is inappropriate, the requester may file a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to the Maryland Declaratory Judgment Act.
(2) Court costs for the action shall be waived.
(3) Failure to seek administrative review under Rule 16-932 shall not be grounds to dismiss the action.
(b) Where Filed; Service. The complaint shall be filed in the circuit court for the county in which the custodian is employed and shall be served on the custodian in accordance with Rule 2-121.
(c) Response. The custodian shall file a response within 30 days after service of the complaint and summons.
(d) Expedited Treatment. The court shall schedule a hearing promptly, if one is requested, and give expedited treatment to the action.
(e) Burden. The custodian or SCA shall have the burden of (1) sustaining the decision that the custodian or SCA made to deny inspection or production of the requested information or judicial record, or to delay a decision on the request, and (2) justifying the proposed fee, if that is in dispute.
(f) In Camera Inspection. The court may direct the custodian to produce a copy of the judicial record at issue for in camera inspection to determine whether the record or any part of it may be withheld pursuant to these Rules.
(g) Order. If the court finds that the requester has a right to inspect all or any of the record or to have a new judicial record created, it shall enter an order (1) directing the custodian to produce or create the record or the part of the record subject to inspection for inspection by the requester within a specified time, and (2) if in issue, determine the appropriate fee for producing or creating the record. Otherwise, the court shall dismiss the complaint. Willful disobedience of an order issued under this Rule may be enforced by contempt. No money damages or attorneys' fees may be awarded to any party.
Source: This Rule is in part derived from former Rule 16-914 (2019) and is in part new.

Credits

[Adopted June 29, 2020, eff. Aug. 1, 2020.]
MD Rules, Rule 16-933, MD R CTS J AND ATTYS Rule 16-933
Current with amendments received through February 1, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document