In Re Santos Nohe Lopez Perez ( 2019 )

Circuit Court for Prince George’s County
Case No. CAE 17-06052
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
OF MARYLAND
No. 61
September Term, 2018
IN RE SANTOS NOHE LOPEZ PEREZ
Barbera, C.J.
Greene
McDonald
Watts
Hotten
Getty,
JJ.
ORDER
Filed: January 4, 2019
Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal
Materials Act
(§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic.
2019-01-04
15:45-05:00
Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk
IN RE SANTOS NOHE LOPEZ PEREZ * IN THE
* COURT OF APPEALS
* OF MARYLAND
* No. 61
* September Term, 2018
ORDER
WHEREAS, counsel for Petitioner has filed an emergency petition for certiorari
and motion for related relief requesting that this Court reverse the Court of Special
Appeals’ dismissal of Petitioner’s appeal as untimely;
WHEREAS, Petitioner is attempting to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
(“SIJS”), which, under federal law, he must apply for by his 21st birthday set to occur on
Thursday, January 10, 2019;
WHEREAS, this case arises from the circuit court’s August 31, 2017, order
denying Petitioner’s request that the court enter the requisite SIJS factual findings,
notwithstanding the uncontested evidence in the record demonstrating that Petitioner
suffered parental abuse and neglect;
WHEREAS, after the circuit court denied Petitioner’s motion to alter or amend that
judgment on September 26, 2017, Petitioner filed a notice of appeal on October 12, 2017,
that but for counsel’s failure to include a Certificate of Service would have been timely;
WHEREAS, counsel filed a corrected notice of appeal on October 27, 2017;
WHEREAS, the Court of Special Appeals took issue with the timeliness of
Petitioner’s appeal 418 days after the issue was brought to the court’s attention;
WHEREAS, the due process concerns underlying Maryland Rule 1-323 are not
implicated here because Petitioner’s parents, who reside in Guatemala, previously waived
service and do not contest Petitioner’s allegations of abuse and neglect;
WHEREAS, Petitioner is left without recourse to redress counsel’s deficient
conduct and, through no fault of his own, may face severe hardship if the Court of Special
Appeals’ decision stands;
WHEREAS, in light of the above, this Court, in separate order, granted the petition
for certiorari in the above-entitled case;
NOW, therefore, it is this 4th day of January 2019,
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, a majority of the Court
concurring, that the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals be reversed in the interest of
justice; and it is further
ORDERED, that this case be remanded to the Court of Special Appeals with the
instruction that the August 31, 2017 order of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County,
Docket Entry No. 15, be vacated and, further, that the case be remanded to the Circuit Court
to enter forthwith an amended order that includes the following factual findings: (1)
Petitioner is an unmarried individual under the age of 21, (2) Petitioner has been placed
under the custody of an individual appointed by the court, (3) the court has jurisdiction
under Maryland law to make determinations about Petitioner’s custody and care, (4)
reunification with Petitioner’s parents is not viable due to the unrefuted evidence of abuse
and neglect, and (5) it is not in Petitioner’s best interest to return to Guatemala; and it is
further
ORDERED, that this order be satisfied with haste, as Mr. Perez faces the imminent
deadline of January 9, 2019, to submit his SIJS application. This order pertains solely and
exclusively to the extraordinary and exigent circumstances of this case. All costs are
waived. Mandate to issue forthwith.
/s/ Mary Ellen Barbera
Chief Judge