Washington, DC-Maryland Senate Bill 4 takes effect October 1, doubling the jurisdictional limit of the state's small claims courts from $2,500 to $5,000. HALT, a national legal consumers group, was instrumental in the three-year campaign that led to the bill's signature by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich in April. The reform will greatly expand access for Marylanders to small claims courts, which use simplified procedures that enable ordinary people to take charge of their legal needs without hiring an attorney.

"Maryland is finally joining most of the rest of the country in allowing its small claims courts to handle more than just dry cleaning disputes. Consumers can only hope for further increases in small claims jurisdictions so that more people can handle their legal disputes cheaply, fairly and expeditiously," says HALT Senior Counsel Thomas M. Gordon.

The legislation will raise the state's dollar cap on small claims up from $2,500, the eighth-lowest in the nation, to the national median limit, which is $5,000. HALT strongly advocated for the reform, seeing the previous limit as prohibitively low, stranding too many people with simple legal problems in a legal no-man's land.

Testifying in support of the bill, HALT pointed out that many people have disputes worth more than the previous limit of $2,500, but not worth enough to hire an attorney, whose fee would eat up any restitution. Not only will more people be able to handle their legal problems in the most appropriate forum, the higher limit will also deter many problems. Because small claims court will provide a more valuable means of recourse, many simple business transactions will run more smoothly and fairly, with more disputes being settled out of court.

When the bill takes effect tomorrow, it will punctuate the end of a three-year battle that saw previous versions of the bill unanimously pass both chambers of the state legislature only to be vetoed by former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening in two consecutive years. Glendening cited a request of the state's trial lawyers-who mistakenly fear losing clients as more people are empowered to handle their own cases in small claims court-as the reason for his vetoes.

A recent HALT study silenced the argument that higher dollar limits would produce an onslaught of new cases, straining the system to its breaking point. Drawing on state-by-state caseload data, HALT conclusively proved that a rise in jurisdictional limit very rarely leads to a larger caseload.

Gordon cautions that further reform is still necessary to ensure full access to the courts, pointing to HALT's eventual goal of all states having a $20,000 limit. He says, "Although this increase will help many Marylanders resolve their legal disputes, there are many more who are still stuck outside the system."

Founded in 1978, HALT-An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization. HALT pursues an ambitious education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and accountability and reduce costs in the civil justice system. Please visit www.halt.org for more information.