Attorney Grievance Commission v. Dyer

The road to Maryland’s political graveyard is paved with multitudes of failed referendum petitions and good intentions of petition circulators and referendum strategists. The controlling statutes in the Maryland Code, Election Law Article for conducting a referendum petition drive present a veritable minefield of technicalities that can quickly scuttle and send awry the best-laid plans of citizen-activists seeking a voter referendum.

Prior cases before Maryland’s appellate courts demonstrate the difficulties for an attorney advising clients mounting a referendum petition drive. For example, a…