Legislating From the Bench in MD — Not This Time

Court of Appeals Sustains Contributory Negligence Doctrine 

BY BARRY RASCOVAR / JULY 16, 2013

IT WAS SUPPOSED to be a grand finale for Maryland’s top jurist, Robert Bell – a sweeping re-ordering of this state’s ancient negligence standards by wiping out the common law doctrine known as contributory negligence.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Bell’s retirement as Chief Judge of Maryland’s Court of Appeals: He couldn’t get his colleagues to go along with him. Instead, as often was the case during Bell’s tenure on the state’s highest court, he found himself in a distinct minority.

By a 5-2 vote, the court upheld Maryland’s contributory negligence doctrine employing the same logic as did Bell’s predecessor, Chief Judge Robert C. Murphy, 30 years ago.

Read the full article here from PoliticalMaryland.com