Baltimore Circuit Court Faces A Backlog of Nearly 1600 Criminal Cases

By Andrew Michaels - April 26, 2021
Daily Stories | Featured |

The coronavirus pandemic has created a substantial backlog of criminal cases at the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.

Court is scheduled to resume with jury trials for criminal cases on May 5. Jury trials for civil cases began on April 26.

As of April 1, the court’s backlog of criminal cases reached 1,522 felonies and 162 misdemeanors, 857 of which currently involve incarcerated individuals. Individuals who are incarcerated will be given priority as the court schedules trials.

“Our goal is to try between eight and 10 civil trials per month and between 10 and 20 criminal trials per month,” Baltimore City Circuit Court Circuit Administrative and Chief Judge Audrey J. S. Carrión told Baltimore Witness.

In March 2020, the city had a backlog of 156 felony and 12 misdemeanor criminal cases.

There will be four courtrooms available for criminal trials.

The court has been conducting remote and virtual hearings for non-jury trials and contested hearings for civil, criminal, family and juvenile cases.