Zuckerman Spaeder partner John J. Connolly posted an article called The Conscious Uncoupling of the Maryland and Federal Constitutions.
For more than 100 years, scores of Maryland decisions have suggested that state constitutional rights should be interpreted “in pari materia” with comparable rights in the U.S. Constitution. Although the rule has never been absolute, recent decisions suggest its force may be waning. This article looks at the recent decisions and discusses whether they represent a new direction for Maryland constitutional law.