Banner political notes: New names for Maryland’s top courts; Honors for departing Mosby, Anderson; More people join the Moore administration

Maryland’s two highest courts have new names, as of this week: the Appellate Court of Maryland and the Supreme Court of Maryland. The new names replace the confusing names of the Court of Special Appeals and the Court of Appeals. The Court of Special Appeals was the first level of appeals court in the state, and the Court of Appeals was the highest court — not that it was easy for non-lawyers to tell which was which. Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved the name switcheroo in November’s general election. The new names went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. Along with the courts getting new names, the judges who serve on the highest court got new titles. They’ll be known as justices.