Barbee v. Barbee

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

This case involves Maryland’s Domestic Violence Act (the Act), Maryland Code (1984, 1987 Cum.Supp.), §§ 4-501 through 4-515 of the Family Law Article, and whether appeals arising under its provisions from the District Court of Maryland to a circuit court are to be heard on the record or de novo.

I

The Act, in § 4-504, authorizes a “household member” to file a sworn petition, either in a circuit court or in the District Court of Maryland, alleging “abuse ... by another household member.” 1 Section 4-501(e) defines “ ‘Household members’ ” to mean “spouses, parents, children,…