Baltimore Court Information, Location and Rules

Baltimore is one of the most renowned manufacturing and shipping cities in the world. It is also a safe city to live in, courtesy of efficient judicial machinery. The courts in Baltimore form a part of the Maryland court system. They are entrusted with the responsibility of preserving law and order in the city and ensure that the dictates of the Constitution are not violated. The old Baltimore Municipal Court became the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore city in 1971.

Jurisdiction of the Baltimore Municipal Court

The District Court of Maryland for the Baltimore City or the Baltimore municipal court possesses judicial rights to try landlord-tenant disputes, hear civil cases where the amount of controversy does not exceed $5,000, and issue peace and protective orders to preserve the rights of citizens. The court shares jurisdiction powers with the circuit courts for cases where the amount of controversy is more than $5,000 but does not exceed $30,000.

The Baltimore court has the authority to judge motor vehicle law breaches, misdemeanor charges, and certain cases of felonies.

The Department of Family Administration deals with family issues like divorce, child custody, juvenile matters, and domestic violence.

The court can usually settle small claims matters relatively simply without requiring an attorney. The Baltimore court intervenes to settle matters like recovering money and property, collecting money from a bad check, obtaining relief from domestic violence, stalking, abuse, harassment, and trespassing.

Accessing Case Records and Information

As per the laws of the state of Maryland, the public is given access to most state government records, except those that are sealed for privacy or because they are sensitive. You can access Baltimore court case records and information quite easily. Information that is generated throughout the day at the Baltimore District Court is updated online at the end of the day, so you may access records the next day. You may access this information at http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp.

Records of criminal cases are available online at http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/selfhelp/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/records.html. You will have access to civil, criminal, traffic case records, vital records like birth, death, and marriage here. The site contains a comprehensive sex offender registry. These records are also stored in the various courthouse locations, usually in the place where the trial was conducted.

You can acquire information like the date and time of hearings for ongoing cases from this site or over the telephone from the court clerk. This site is a storehouse of information and contains certified driving records and traffic tickets information.

Location of the Baltimore Municipal Court

The Baltimore City District court operates from several locations: E. Fayette Street, North Avenue, Patapsco Avenue, and Wabash Avenue. Click here for driving directions: http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/directories/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/courtmap.html#baltimorecity.

Court hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, in all locations.

The Baltimore Municipal Court presides over a host of cases and makes public a wealth of case-related information, all in an effort to preserve law and order in the community, secure the rights of the people, and ensure the safety of the citizens.