Steve Klepper
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mdappeal.bsky.social
Steve Klepper
@mdappeal.bsky.social
1K followers 180 following 75 posts
Baltimore-based MD & DC appellate lawyer. Founder of MdAppBlog. Editor, Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer. 2024 MSBA Litigator of the Year. Advocate for singular “they.”
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mdappeal.bsky.social
What a difference a day makes! The Supreme Court of Maryland appears yo have switched to black robes except for special occasions (like yesterday’s opening day)

mdappblog.com/2025/09/05/m...
Maryland’s justices wearing red robes on Thursday and black robes on Friday
September 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Obi Wan: Now that’s a time zone I haven’t heard in a long time
May 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Maryland federal court issues a standing order automatically staying removals for two business days upon filing of a habeas petition with name and alien ID number

www.mdd.uscourts.gov/sites/mdd/fi...
The All Writs Act permits courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a). Further, the Supreme Court recognizes “a limited judicial power to preserve the court’s jurisdiction or maintain the status quo by injunction pending review of an agency’s action through the prescribed statutory channels.” F.T.C. v. Dean Foods Co., 384 U.S. 597, 604 (1966) (citing cases). Accordingly, in order to preserve existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of this Court over pending matters while the Court determines the scope of its authority to grant the request relief; to ensure Petitioners are able to participate in the adjudication of their requests for habeas relief, including participation in court proceedings and access to legal counsel for such purpose; to ensure the Court is able to evaluate their respective claims for relief based on their in-court testimony that may be offered; and to ensure the Government has a fulsome opportunity to brief and present arguments in its defense, it is hereby ORDERED by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland that upon the filing of a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on behalf of an alien detainee, the Government/Respondents, including all those acting for them or on their behalf, are ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from removing Petitioners in such cases from the continental United States or altering their legal status, provided that Petitioner’s full name and A# have been provided to the Court, either in the Petition or in a separate sealed filing
May 21, 2025 at 10:23 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Back in March, the Kleppers brainstormed potential Sunrise on the Reaping casting, and so far we got one right! Love love love Maya Hawke as Wiress
- [ ] Wiress: Maya Hawke - [ ] Haymitch: Walker Scobel - [ ] Magno: Titus Burgess - [ ] Effie: Chloe Fineman - [ ] Drusilla: Parker Posey - [ ] Lenore Dove: Jenna Ortega
May 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
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Related?
Two push alerts, one about new pope chosen, one about Trump replacing US Attorney pick Ed Martin
May 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
My favorite part of the Baltimore Banner’s profile of Judge Paula Xinis is that it uses a screenshot of a 2021 Zoom with a Deadpool plushie in the background. My son has the same one!
Screenshot of Judge Xinis with a shelf of many serious things but also a Deadpool plushie
April 20, 2025 at 6:31 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Here’s the relevant passage from Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer
Treatise passage on use of “safety valve” mandamus petitions in discovery disputes Footnotes on use of safety valve mandamus petitions
April 16, 2025 at 12:59 AM
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Yes, one of my favorite points of anti-pontification
April 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
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The subtle shade of a Judge Arthur opinion

www.mdcourts.gov/sites/defaul...
The parties to this dispute are Dr. Karen Lee and The Mains Homeowners Association. The facts giving rise to the association’s claims are clear from the record, but the parties have gravely different characterizations of the trial court proceedings. In Dr. Lee’s opinion, they showcase “the worst case of fraud on the court ever happening in the history of American jurisprudence. ” But, according to the association, the proceedings were adversarial, free of fraud, and properly resolved. The following facts are supplemented in the discussion section as needed.
February 21, 2025 at 2:21 AM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Liz Pittman & I presented “Inclusive Writing and Advocacy: Where Ethics Meet Persuasion” to a client’s in-house team yesterday. How do you write for the broadest possible audience—perhaps a judge wary of “performative wokeness” & their Gen Z law clerk who views the same sentiment as common courtesy?
Title page and outline for our slide deck for Inclusive Writing and Advocacy
January 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
And a view from the bar at Condado Tacos by Busch Stadium. The Korean BBQ taco (center) was my favorite
Three delicious tacos lined up
January 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
A view from my hotel room of the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse, where I’ll be arguing before the Eighth Circuit tomorrow morning
The Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis
January 15, 2025 at 8:05 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
My article, Appellate Review of Daubert Rulings, will appear in Volume 55 of the University of Baltimore Law Forum!
Below is a screenshot of the synopsis, pending edits by Law Forum staff. If you'd like me to speak on this topic with your bar group, law club, or Inn of Court, please let me know.
This article posits that Daubert errors fall into two main categories: procedural and substantive. Procedural errors occur when a trial court misunderstands some aspect of the Daubert framework. In effect, the trial judge has misread Maryland Rule 5-702, which governs expert testimony. Such error, like any other misreading of an evidentiary rule, is legal error reviewed de novo (without deference). Substantive errors occur when a trial judge follows the Daubert framework but reaches a result to which appellate courts cannot defer, either because the trial judge has abused their discretion in the traditional sense or because the Court has decided to draw a boundary circumscribing trial judges’ discretion. Not only does such a vocabulary more accurately describe the nature of review, but it also reduces friction between trial and appellate courts.
January 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Uh oh 2025 is off to a bad start according to Apple Fitness
253 steps/day 2025 10,578 steps/day 2024
January 1, 2025 at 5:19 AM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Flag flying a half-staff at Fort McHenry for President Carter
1812 flag flying at half staff with cannons to either side
December 30, 2024 at 7:26 PM
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Laziest of Sundays
My son holding our black cat Clove
December 2, 2024 at 2:31 AM
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I don’t know why Maeve puts up with this nonsense from Clove
November 29, 2024 at 2:59 AM
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Christine Baranski’s commitment to Thanos-level supervillainy is 💯
Christine Baranski as Regina, who is about to sell an entire town to build Cheetah Mall, as she sings “I gotta get out of this town”
November 28, 2024 at 1:47 AM
mdappeal.bsky.social
The season’s first viewing of Christmas on the Square, the holiday movie in which everyone is a zero or six on the Kinsey Scale, nothing in between
Dolly Parton as an angel named “Angel” holding a box labeled “CHANGE”
November 28, 2024 at 1:40 AM
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This drink is the Holly McClain

Thanksgiving Eve at Dutch Courage
Festive drink
November 27, 2024 at 11:14 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Baltimore Museum of Art Gala honoring Sherrilyn Ifill. Honorary Co-Chairs include Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Moore.
Sherrilyn Ifill with BMA director Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Moore
November 24, 2024 at 1:56 AM
mdappeal.bsky.social
Not to put too fine a point on it, but today’s unreported Appellate Court of Maryland opinion (Nazarian, J) is the first case nationwide to quote They Might Be Giants

mdcourts.gov/sites/defaul...
December 18, 2023 at 11:41 PM
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Make this Thanksgiving extra special for the lawyers in your life with the Sixth Edition of Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer: State and Federal!

Take advantage of the 0% discount for Black Friday!

www.msba.org/product/appe...
November 23, 2023 at 8:02 PM
mdappeal.bsky.social
On Monday, I argued before the Md Supreme Court, challenging the denial of LJ Chavis’ requested disability accommodation. The State Board of Law Examiners expressed disagreement with DOJ Civil Rights Division guidance for bar exams. We’re happy to shine a spotlight on this civil rights issue.
October 6, 2023 at 9:10 PM