One Signature, No Judge: How Maryland Lets a Single Accusation Freeze a Custody Case
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A commissioner — not a judge — can issue a protective order in Maryland based on one...
Domestic Violence
Maryland’s Protective Order System Has Failed Before. It Will Again.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Robert MacMeekin drove his daughter to a Baltimore County courthouse on Saturday morning to...
Released Hours Before Killing, Ellicott City Case Raises Questions About Maryland’s Public Safety System
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A woman in Ellicott City is dead, and new details show the danger was already in the...
Maryland’s Outdated Wiretap Law Is Hurting Victims — And 2026 May Finally Bring Change
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland is one of just a few states still clinging to a strict two-party consent wiretap...
Why Does Maryland Keep Releasing Violent Offenders? And Why Don’t Domestic Violence Victims Matter?
By Michael Phillips Maryland is facing a crisis—one that lawmakers, judges, and bail commissioners never seem to take...
The Gatekeepers No One Elected: How Maryland’s District Court Commissioners Shape Justice Before a Judge Ever Looks
Maryland’s justice system runs on a 24/7 hinge: District Court commissioners. These are not judges and, by law, they...