In Re Riddlemoser

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

We granted certiorari in this case upon a certification of issues of law from the Court of Special Appeals, pursuant to Maryland Rule 8-304. A threshold procedural issue is whether, if the appeal is now moot, we should nevertheless address the substantive issue in the case because of the urgency of establishing a rule of future conduct. The substantive issue presented is whether circuit courts possess authority to authorize a guardian to withhold life-sustaining medical treatment from a “disabled person” in the event of cardiac arrest.

I

Maryland Code (1974, 1988 Cum.Supp.),…