Maryland Commission on Human Relations v. Bethlehem Steel Corp.

Bishop, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. ⁶⁴⁸ This is an appeal by the Maryland Commission on Human Relations from the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari issued by the Baltimore City Court pursuant to Subtitle K of the Maryland Rules of Procedure commanding the appellant to certify and produce to the court all records in the proceeding, Wakeman v. Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Case No. E38-1281. The petition for the writ, filed by the respondent below and the appellee here, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, alleged that the appellant had exceeded its jurisdiction or authority by reconsidering a previous written finding of no probable cause of discrimination then reversing that finding to an amended written finding of probable cause. This action took place after the appellant reopened the proceedings, in violation of its own rules, a year after concluding them, and eight months after having denied a motion to reconsider. Question Presented The issue raised by the appellant is, Whether the Baltimore City Court had jurisdiction to issue a Writ of Certiorari against an administrative agency pursuant to MRP Subtitle K prior to or in lieu of exhaustion of statutory and administrative remedies.

The issuance of a Writ of Certiorari under the K Rules is not an assumption or jurisdiction by the lower court but only the first step authorized by the rules in order for the court to determine whether it has jurisdiction. Rule K 47. Hearing. Upon the return of the writ and the receipt of the record certified, the court issuing the writ shall determine its own jurisdiction and the jurisdiction and validity of the proceedings of the inferior tribunal.

The argument of the appellant goes to the merits of the case in its posture as if the lower court had made a determination of its jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of the appellant under K 47, supra. It is clear from the record that the ⁶⁴⁹ lower court did not rule on the jurisdictional questions but only on the procedural one of whether to issue the writ under K 47. The question of jurisdiction, vel non, has not been ruled on by the lower court and cannot be ruled on until the return of the writ and the receipt of the record. Rule K 47, supra.

The narrow issue that is before us then is not the jurisdiction of the Baltimore City Court but whether that court abused its discretion in issuing the Writ of Certiorari in this case. Therefore, our