Study finds errors, due process violations in rent courts statewide

Judges presiding over rent court cases throughout Maryland are failing to properly apply state law and ensure landlords’ compliance, according to a new study conducted by Maryland Legal Aid.

The nonprofit organization looked at a random sample of failure-to-pay-rent cases from 2012 — more than 1,300 records — in response to “anecdotal evidence” that suggested existing law was not being applied uniformly throughout Maryland, according to “Human Rights in Maryland’s Rent Courts,” released Tuesday.

Based on the sample, Legal Aid concluded courts entered a judgment contrary to Maryland law in an estimated 107,863 cases statewide – more than 17 percent of all failure-to-pay-rent cases, according to the findings.

“We said we wanted to really be able to say something pretty concretely about what’s going on all over the state, not just with clients we talked to,” said staff attorney Rachel Wolpert.

Wolpert said the issues identified in the study, including the failure to properly serve tenants with a complaint and a lack of signature by the landlord on the complaint form, were found across all jurisdictions.

With the assistance of a statistician from the American Association of the Advancement of Sciences, Maryland Legal Aid determined nearly 3 in 10 cases, on average, had at least one type of error, including cases incorrectly decided under existing law.

“We knew some of these problems existed and we didn’t know the extent or how prevalent they were,” said Maryland Legal Aid Chief Counsel Shawn Boehringer.

The study also found multiple instances where the information provided in the case record was unclear, insufficient or incomplete to allow for definitive conclusions.

Wolpert said a portion of the file completed by the court to indicate who was present at the proceeding and the outcome was sometimes not decipherable.

“That was a concern for the judicial system, which should be keeping records of all cases that come before it and all cases should be resolved,” she said.

Next steps

The Maryland Judiciary was supportive of the study, according to Boehringer, and assisted in compiling the requested data. Now, armed with statistical evidence of persistent issues, Maryland Legal Aid hopes the court will be open to addressing the issues the study raises.

“We definitely wanted to make sure [the study] was scientifically valid and accurate so that it could be given due weight in discussions on these issues,” Boehringer said. “I think that goes much farther than anecdotes here and there.”

Reform in existing laws is not necessary, Boehringer said, but existing laws need to be adhered to by the court.

“Someone’s home should not be taken away from them unless there is adequate due process,” he said.

Among the report’s recommendations: A complaint filed by a landlord should be filled out properly and contain the necessary information for a judge to order eviction. Even if all legal requirements are met, the judge should still review the facts and circumstances of the case to determine if eviction is warranted.

Maryland Legal Aid is interested in partnering with the Judiciary to assist with any training that may be proposed, Boehringer added.

“The courts should disfavor an eviction judgment,” he said. “There should be a strict compliance with the mandates of the case law in the statute that have to be satisfied before an eviction judgment is entered.”