Baltimore bars lose constitutional challenge to limited hours of operation

A Maryland statute requiring bars in a predominantly Black area of Baltimore to open later and close earlier than most others in the city does not violate the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law, the state’s second-highest court ruled last week. In its reported decision, the Court of Special Appeals said the General Assembly did not intentionally discriminate on the basis of race when it enacted the law known as Chapter 389 in 2020 in an effort to reduce alcohol-fueled violence in an especially crime-ridden area of the city.