(a) Action. "Action means collectively all the steps by which a party seeks to enforce any right in a court or all the steps of a criminal prosecution.(b) Affidavit. "Affidavit means a written statement the contents of which are affirmed under the penalties of perjury to be true. Unless the applicable rule expressly requires the affidavit to be made on personal knowledge, the statement may be made to the best of the affiant's knowledge, information, and belief.(c) Body Attachment. "Body attachment means a written order issued by a court directing a sheriff or peace officer to take custody of and bring before the court (1) a witness who fails to comply with a subpoena, (2) a material witness in a criminal action, or (3) a party in a civil action who fails to comply with an order of court.(d) Certified Mail. "Certified mail means mail deposited with the United States Postal Service, with postage prepaid and return receipt requested.(e) Circuit. "Circuit means a judicial circuit as provided in Article IV, § 19 of the Constitution of Maryland.(f) Clerk. "Clerk means the clerk or a deputy clerk of a court of this State and refers, as applicable under the circumstances, to the clerk or a deputy clerk of the court (1) to which the title, chapter, or rule applies or (2) in which the particular action or proceeding has been filed or properly could be filed.(g) Code. "Code, in a reference to an article and section of the Code, means any Code of the Public General Laws of the State that has been adopted and made evidence of the Public General Laws of the State under Code, Courts Article, § 10-201.(h) County. "County includes the City of Baltimore.(i) Court. "Court means a court of this State and refers, as applicable under the circumstances, to the court (1) to which the title, chapter, or rule applies or (2) in which the particular action or proceeding has been filed or properly could be filed.(j) Digital Media "Digital media" means material in an audio, audiovisual, or video format that can be transmitted and stored electronically.
(k) Guardian. "Guardian means a natural or legal guardian.(l) Holiday. "Holiday means an "employee holiday set forth in Code, State Personnel and Pensions Article, § 9-201. Committee note: The "employee holidays listed in Code, State Personnel and Pensions Article are:
(1) January 1, for New Year's Day;(2) January 15, for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, unless the United States Congress designates another day for observance of that legal holiday, in which case, the day designated by the United States Congress;(3) the third Monday in February, for Presidents' Day;(4) May 30, for Memorial Day, unless the United States Congress designates another day for observance of that legal holiday, in which case, the day designated by the United States Congress;(5) June 19, for Juneteenth National Independence Day; (6) July 4, for Independence Day;(7) the first Monday in September, for Labor Day;(8) October 12, for Columbus Day, unless the United States Congress designates another day for observance of that legal holiday, in which case, the day designated by the United States Congress;(9) November 11, for Veterans' Day; (10) the fourth Thursday in November, for Thanksgiving Day;(11) the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, for American Indian Heritage Day;(12) December 25, for Christmas Day;(13) each statewide general election day in this State; and(14) each other day that the President of the United States or the Governor designates for general cessation of business.(m) Individual. "Individual means a human being.(n) Individual Under Disability. "Individual under disability means an individual under the age of 18 years or an individual incompetent by reason of mental incapacity.(o) Judge. "Judge means a judge of a court of this State and refers, as applicable under the circumstances, to a judge of the court (1) to which the title, chapter, or rule applies or (2) in which the particular action or proceeding has been filed or properly could be filed. Subject to those conditions, "judge" includes a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland.(p) Judgment. "Judgment means any order of court final in its nature entered pursuant to these rules.(q) Levy. "Levy means an act of a sheriff that brings property under the control of the court so that the property becomes available for the satisfaction of a money judgment.(r) Money Judgment. "Money judgment means a judgment determining that a specified amount of money is immediately payable to the judgment creditor. It does not include a judgment mandating the payment of money.(s) Newspaper of General Circulation. "Newspaper of general circulation means a newspaper as defined in Code, General Provisions Article, § 1-113.(t) Original Pleading. "Original pleading means the first pleading filed in an action against a defendant and includes a third-party complaint.(u)Paper. "Paper" includes a document filed or that exists in electronic form.(v) Person. "Person includes any individual, general or limited partnership, joint stock company, unincorporated association or society, municipal or other corporation, incorporated association, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, the State, its agencies or political subdivisions, any court, or any other governmental entity.(w) Pleading. "Pleading means a complaint, a counterclaim, a cross-claim, a third-party complaint, an answer, an answer to a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party complaint, a reply to an answer, or a charging document as used in Title 4.(x) Proceeding. "Proceeding means any part of an action.(y) Process. "Process means any written order issued by a court to secure compliance with its commands or to require action by any person and includes a summons, subpoena, an order of publication, a commission or other writ.(z) Property. "Property includes real, personal, mixed, tangible or intangible property of every kind.(aa) Return. "Return means a report of action taken to serve or effectuate process.(bb) Senior Judge; Senior Justice "Senior judge means: (1) in Rules 16-103 and 16-601, an incumbent judge with the longest continuous period of incumbency on the court on which the judge serves, and(2) in all other Rules, an individual who (A) once served as a judge on the District Court, a circuit court, or an appellate court of this State, (B) retired from that office voluntarily or by operation of law by reason of age, and (C) has been approved for recall to sit as a judge pursuant to Md. Constitution, Art. IV, § 3A and Code, Courts Article, § 1-302. Senior Justice" means a Senior Judge who has been designated to sit on the Supreme Court of Maryland in a case or other judicial matter pending before that Court. Cross reference: For a use of the term "senior judge consistent with the definition in Rule 1-202(z)(1), see Md. Constitution, Art. IV, § 18(b)(5).
(cc) Sheriff. "Sheriff means the sheriff or a deputy sheriff of the county in which the proceedings are taken, any elisor appointed to perform the duties of the sheriff, and, with respect to the District Court, any court constable.(dd) Subpoena. "Subpoena means a written order or writ directed to a person and requiring attendance at a particular time and place to take the action specified therein.(ee) Summons. "Summons means a writ notifying the person named in the summons that (1) an action against that person has been commenced in the court from which the summons is issued and (2) in a civil action, failure to answer the complaint may result in entry of judgment against that person and, in a criminal action, failure to attend may result in issuance of a warrant for that person's arrest.(ff) Warrant; Arrest Warrant; Bench Warrant; Search Warrant. "Warrant means an arrest warrant, a bench warrant, or a search warrant. (1) "Arrest warrant means a written order that (A) in the District Court is signed by a judge or District Court commissioner; (B) in a circuit court is signed by (i) a judge or (ii) the clerk of the court upon an order by a judge that is in writing or otherwise of record, is docketed, and expressly directs the clerk to issue the warrant; and (C) commands a peace officer to arrest the person named in the warrant.(2) "Bench warrant means an arrest warrant that (A) is signed by (i) a judge or (ii) the clerk of the court upon an order by a judge that is in writing or otherwise of record, is docketed, and directs the clerk to issue the warrant, and (B) commands a peace officer to arrest the person named in the warrant. Committee note: A bench warrant may be issued to enforce an order to appear, for a violation of probation, or on a petition for contempt.
(3) "Search warrant means a written order signed by a judge pursuant to Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 1-203 that commands a peace officer to search for and seize property described in the warrant. Committee note: A clerk of the court may sign an arrest warrant or bench warrant upon an order to "issue the warrant, provided the order conforms to this section.
Cross reference: See Wilson v. State, 345 Md. 437, 450 (1997); Nnoli v. Nnoli, 389 Md. 315, 323, n.1 (2005).
(gg) Writ. "Writ means a written order issued by a court and addressed to a sheriff or other person whose action the court desires to command to require performance of a specified act or to give authority to have the act done. This Rule is derived as follows:
Section (a) is derived from former Rule 5 a.
Section (b) is derived from former Rule 5 c.
Section (c) is new.
Section (d) is derived from former Rule 5 aa.
Section (e) is derived from former Rule 5 e.
Section (f) is derived from former Rule 5 f.
Section (g) is derived from former Rule 5 g.
Section (h) is derived from former Rule 5 h.
Section (i) is new.
Section (j) is new.
Section (k) is derived from former Rule 5 m.
Section (l) is new.
Section (m) is new.
Section (n) is derived from former Rule 5 r.
Section (o) is derived from former Rule 5 n.
Section (p) is derived from former Rule 5 o.
Section (q) is new.
Section (r) is new.
Section (s) is new.
Section (t) is derived from the last sentence of former Rule 5 v.
Section (u) is new.
Section (v) is derived from former Rule 5 q.
Section (w) is new and adopts the concept of federal practice set forth in the 1963 version of Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a).
Section (x) is derived from former Rule 5 w.
Section (y) is derived from former Rule 5 y.
Section (z) is derived from former Rule 5 z.
Section (aa) is new.
Section (bb) is new.
Section (cc) is derived from former Rule 5 cc.
Section (dd) is derived from former Rule 5 ee.
Section (ee) is new.
Section (ff) is derived in part from former Rule 702 h and M.D.R. 702 m and is in part new.
Section (gg) is derived from former Rule 5 ff.
Adopted April 6, 1984, eff. 7/1/1984. Amended April 7, 1986, eff. 7/1/1986; 6/7/1994, eff. 10/1/1994; 1/10/1995, eff. 2/1/1995; 6/5/1996, eff. 1/1/1997; 12/10/1996, eff. 1/1/1997; 4/8/1997, eff. 7/1/1997; 11/12/2003, eff. 1/1/2004; 4/5/2005, eff. 7/1/2005; 5/8/2007, eff. 7/1/2007; 2/10/2009, eff. 5/1/2009; 6/7/2011, eff. 7/1/2011; 3/2/2015, eff. 7/1/2015; 6/20/2017, eff. 8/1/2017; 10/10/2018, eff. 1/1/2019; amended September 30, 2022, 12/14/2022; amended Nov. 28, 2023, eff. 1/1/2024; amended Oct. 15, 2024, eff. 1/1/2025.HISTORICAL NOTES
2003 Orders
The November 12, 2003, order amended the source note.
2005 Orders
The April 5, 2005, order rewrote section (g), which previously read:
"(g) Code, Reference to. Reference to an article and section of the Code means the article and section of the Annotated Code of Public General Laws of Maryland as from time to time amended.
2007 Orders
The May 8, 2007, order made stylistic corrections to section (m).
2009 Orders
The February 10, 2009, order, amended the Committee note for section (k) and added a definition for "individual.
2011 Orders
The June 7, 2011, order added section (r), redesignated former sections (r) to (bb) as (s) to (cc), and amended the source note.
2015 Orders
The March 2, 2015, order, amended the Rule to conform an internal reference to revised Code revisions.
2017 Orders
The June 20, 2017 order, added a definition of the term "senior judge and a related cross reference.
2018 Orders
The October 10, 2018 order added a definition of "warrant, included in the definition subsections that differentiate "arrest warrants, "bench warrants, and "search warrants from one another, and added a Committee note and cross reference following section (dd).