Rule 2-551.In banc review

In banc review is an alternative path for challenging a circuit court ruling, available only when the Maryland Constitution permits it. Instead of going to the Appellate Court, a party asks the Circuit Administrative Judge to assign three judges from the same circuit — none of whom tried the case — to sit as a panel and review the ruling. To use this option, a party must have already preserved the issue at trial by objecting under Rules 2-517 and 2-520; in banc review doesn't let a party raise something for the first time on review. The notice for in banc review is due within ten days after entry of judgment, or, if someone filed a timely motion under Rule 2-532, 2-533, or 2-534, within ten days after that motion is decided or withdrawn.

Once notice is filed, the process runs on tight paper deadlines: the party seeking review files a memorandum laying out the questions and argument within 30 days, and any opposing party has 15 more days to respond. A judge on the panel decides whether a transcript is needed, and the losing party usually pays for it. A hearing is scheduled unless every party agrees in writing, at least 15 days ahead, to waive it, and the panel explains its decision in a brief written or dictated statement. The panel can dismiss the review outright if the Constitution doesn't allow it, the notice was filed too early or too late, or the case has gone moot. The tradeoff for choosing this route matters: a party who obtains in banc review gives up any further right of appeal, though the opposing party keeps its own right to appeal to the Appellate Court.