ASSIGNMENT OF CASES TO SOUTHERN DIVISION

On December 14, 1995 the STANDING ORDER of the U.S. District
Court of Maryland concerning the assignment of civil cases to the
Southern Division (Greenbelt) was changed.

The COMPLETE REVISED TEXT follows:

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A.    All cases removed from a tribunal in a county within the Southern Division (Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and St. Mary's Counties) shall be assigned to judges sitting in the Southern Division.

B.    Except for good cause shown in a particular case, cases falling within the following categories shall be deemed to be Southern Division cases, although (unless they have been removed from a tribunal within the Southern Division) they may be assigned to judges sitting in the Northern Division as necessary to remedy any imbalance in caseload:

    (1)    All cases in which all of the Maryland parties reside in the Southern Division. (A   corporation's residence shall be its principal place of business in Maryland.)¹

    (2)    All cases in which none of the parties are residents of Maryland and the events allegedly giving rise to the claim(s) set forth in the complaint occurred in the Southern Division.

C.    Judges in the Southern Division will also be assigned a pro rata share of all (1) habeas corpus cases, (2) all civil rights cases filed by prisoners in the State penal system, except the Baltimore City Detention Center, and (3) all cases filed by inmates at the federal correctional facility in Cumberland.

        All civil rights cases filed by prisoners in a city or county jail or detention facility, including the Baltimore City Detention Center, shall be governed by the location of the facility.

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¹    All class actions shall be governed by the residence of the named plaintiffs.

s/ J. Frederick Motz
Chief Judge
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
dated: December 14, 1995