Maryland Supreme Court bars release of names in Baltimore Archdiocese abuse probe

BALTIMORE - The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday that prosecutors may not publicly identify more than a dozen clergy and laypeople accused of concealing or failing to report child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, finding that such disclosures would violate long-standing grand jury secrecy rules.

In a decision reinforcing limits on the public release of investigative material, the court said the Maryland Office of the Attorney General did not meet the legal standard for disclosing the names of individuals who were not criminally charged.

At the center of the case is Maryland Rule 4-642, which only permits disclosure of grand jury material when there is a "particularized need." The court concluded that a general interest in public accountability - including identifying alleged enablers of abuse - is not sufficient to override the privacy rights of uncharged individuals.

"One of the primary purposes of grand jury secrecy is to protect uncharged persons from public disgrace in the absence of a criminal charge and a forum in which to seek vindication," Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Biran wrote in his opinion, finding the attorney general's office had not shown a need for disclosure "beyond the public's interest in learning the information."

The ruling reverses lower court decisions that allowed the potential release of names and sends the case back with instructions to deny those disclosure requests.

Church spokesperson Christian Kendzierski said Tuesday that the archdiocese respects the court's affirming "longstanding" practices and preventing "serious reputational harm to several individuals who stand accused of no crime."

It also underscores the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, which courts have said is intended to protect the reputations of people who are investigated but not indicted. Judges must weigh requests for disclosure on a case-by-case basis, the court said, and cannot approve broad or blanket releases based solely on public interest.

At the same time, the court affirmed the attorney general's authority to investigate the Archdiocese under a directive issued by former Gov. Larry Hogan. That directive, rooted in the state constitution, allowed the office to pursue a wide-ranging probe into "crimes of exploitation," including child sexual abuse.

The result, released in April 2023, was a nearly-500 page report detailing decades of sexual abuse across Maryland's Catholic churches. In total, 156 clergy and church officials were identified as attacking more than 600 children and young people, going back to the 1940s.

A marked victory for survivors, the report also spurred Maryland lawmakers to eliminate the deadline on when someone can file a child sexual abuse claim against an institution - a landmark bill that generated thousands of new lawsuits and sent the archdiocese into bankruptcy.

A spokesperson for the church was not immediately able to comment.

The court on Monday rejected arguments that the investigation overstepped constitutional bounds or infringed on the authority of local prosecutors, finding that governors may authorize such inquiries and that the attorney general can share prosecutorial authority in those cases.

While the attorney general retains the power to produce investigative reports based on grand jury findings, the court made clear that naming uncharged individuals requires a higher legal threshold that was not met in this instance.

The decision leaves intact the broader findings of the Archdiocese investigation but draws a firm line on how much detail, particularly identities, can be made public.

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 11:37 AM.