MSBA members regularly use Maryland Judiciary Case Search, a website that provides public access to the case records of the Maryland Judiciary. The addition of the CAPTCHA function to the website in November 2021 has prompted many members to be concerned that it’s too time consuming. 

MSBA contacted the Maryland Judiciary and relayed MSBA members’ concerns. The Judiciary shared that the CAPTCHA function “is intended to be a short-term solution while the Judiciary works to replace it with a more reliable bot detection program.” 

The MSBA regularly monitors and connects with the Maryland Judiciary to bring members updates and other information that is helpful to their practices.

Here is a statement from the Maryland Judiciary:


“The Maryland Judiciary strives to protect the integrity of the information regarding cases and respective parties stored in its applications and systems. To further that cause, the Maryland Judiciary has implemented CAPTCHA technology to confirm users are not robots or other automated systems in order to access and use Case Search.

“CAPTCHA was first implemented in November 2021, and an update was recently implemented as an added security measure. The first implementation prevented some users from accessing Case Search and also left them without an option to prove they were not a robot. The updated CAPTCHA implementation now allows users to verify they are not a robot through an image verification process. Most users will only see this once, however, some users may be prompted multiple times if the system detects a questionable use. Also, all users must check the “I am not a robot” checkbox before every search attempt. The updated CAPTCHA implementation is intended to be a short-term solution while the Judiciary works to replace it with a more reliable bot detection program.

Please see the Case Search Notices web page located HERE.”


MSBA will continue to monitor this issue and provide updates to our membership. Please share any questions or comments with us at feedback@msba.org as we continue to monitor this matter.