28 U.S.C. § 100
Section 100 · Maryland
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Benford v. American Broadcasting Companies (1984)
Most recently applied in 403 F. Supp. 2d 89 - Brannen v. National Railroad Passenger, Corp. (December 2005)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Maryland constitutes one judicial district comprising two divisions.
(1) The Northern Division comprises the counties of Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester, and the City of Baltimore.
Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Baltimore, Cumberland, and Denton.
(2) The Southern Division comprises the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's, and St. Mary's.
Court for the Southern Division shall be held at a suitable site in Montgomery or Prince George's County not more than five miles from the boundary of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §166 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §86, 36 Stat. 1114; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 422, 43 Stat. 1106).
Provisions relating to appointment of a deputy clerk and a deputy marshal and the maintenance of offices by such deputies were omitted as covered by sections 541 [see 561], 542 [see 561], and 751 of this title.
The provisions respecting court accommodations at Denton were omitted as covered by section 142 of this title.
Changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–702 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section provided that Maryland constituted one judicial district and that court be held at Baltimore, Cumberland, Denton, and at a suitable site in Prince Georges County not more than five miles from the boundary of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties.
1970—Pub. L. 91–546 added a suitable site in Prince Georges County not more than five miles from the boundary of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties to the list of enumerated places for holding court in Maryland.
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Section 2 of Pub. L. 100–487 provided that:
“(a) In General.—This Act and the amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 14, 1988].
“(b) Pending Cases Not Affected.—This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not affect any action commenced before the effective date of this Act and pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on such date.
“(c) Juries Not Affected.—This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not affect the composition, or preclude the service, of any grand or petit jury summoned, empaneled, or actually serving in the Judicial District of Maryland on the effective date of this Act.”