Terms Used In Maryland Code, COURTS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 10-918

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a party who is otherwise entitled to sue and recover upon or under any promissory note, bill of exchange, bill of lading, warehouse or storage receipt, or other negotiable instrument, is not precluded from recovering by reason of the party’s inability to produce the instrument in evidence at the trial or surrender the instrument to the defendant.

(b) The absence of an instrument described in subsection (a) of this section must be sufficiently accounted for under the rules of evidence to allow the introduction of secondary proof of the contents of the instrument at the trial.

(c) (1) A judgment may not be entered for the plaintiff in a suit described in subsection (a) of this section until a sufficient bond has been filed in the suit by the plaintiff.

(2) The bond shall provide for the penalty and surety approved by the court, and conditioned on holding the defendant harmless on satisfaction of the judgment by the defendant as if the missing instrument were then produced and surrendered to the defendant.