Some Harford County criminal dispositions not verified via courtroom recordings, audit finds

Home >Law >

Some Harford County criminal dispositions not verified via courtroom recordings: audit

The Harford County courthouse in Bel Air. (File photo)

Hannah Gaskill//September 30, 2026//

Listen to this article

Key takeaways:

• Maryland Office of Legislative Audits released report on Office of the Clerk of Circuit Court for Harford County
• 553 of 2,271 criminal cases lacked routine independent review
• Harford County clerk’s office to verify dispositions

The Office of the Clerk of Circuit Court for Harford County did not use courtroom recordings to ensure that dispositions for certain criminal cases were being adequately recorded in the automated court system, an audit found.

Released publicly Tuesday by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, the report found that of the 2,271 criminal cases closed in Harford County Circuit Court during the 2025 fiscal year, 553 were not subject to routine independent review to ensure accuracy by the clerk’s office. In response, State Court Administrator Judy K. Rupp and Harford County Clerk of Circuit Court Michelle L. Karczeski stated that 75% of the 2,271 cases had orders for verification.

Rupp and Karczeski stated that the office has a series of supervisory review processes “that resulted in a 100% review of all criminal cases that have had a hearing.”