# Correctional Services (GCS) ## Title 8. State and Local Correctional System -- Generally ### Subtitle 4. Interstate Agreement on Detainers and Related Matters #### Section 8-401 (a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. (b) "Agreement" means the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, which is set forth in Sec.Sec. 8-402 through 8-411 of this subtitle. (c) "Appropriate court" means, with reference to the courts of this State, a circuit court of a county or the District Court. (d) "Correctional institution" means, with reference to the correctional institutions of this State, any State or local correctional facility. #### Section 8-402 The contracting states solemnly agree that: #### Section 8-403 Article I The party states find that charges outstanding against a prisoner, detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints, and difficulties in securing speedy trial of persons already incarcerated in other jurisdictions, produce uncertainties which obstruct programs of prisoner treatment and rehabilitation. Accordingly, it is the policy of the party states and the purpose of this Agreement to encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of such charges and determination of the proper status of any and all detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints. The party states also find that proceedings with reference to such charges and detainers, when emanating from another jurisdiction, cannot properly be had in the absence of cooperative procedures. It is the further purpose of this Agreement to provide such cooperative procedures. #### Section 8-404 Article II (a) As used in this Agreement the following words have the meanings indicated. (b) "Receiving state" means the state in which trial is to be had on an indictment, information, or complaint pursuant to Sec. 8-405 or Sec. 8-406 of this subtitle (Article III or IV of the Agreement). (c) "Sending state" means a state in which a prisoner is incarcerated at the time that the prisoner initiates a request for final disposition pursuant to Sec. 8-405 of this subtitle (Article III of the Agreement) or at the time that a request for custody or availability is initiated pursuant to Sec. 8-406 of this subtitle (Article IV of the Agreement). (d) "State" means a state of the United States, the United States of America, a territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. #### Section 8-405 Article III (a) Whenever a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution of a party state, and whenever during the continuance of the term of imprisonment there is pending in any other party state any untried indictment, information, or complaint on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner, the prisoner shall be brought to trial within 180 days after the prisoner shall have caused to be delivered to the prosecuting officer and the appropriate court of the prosecuting officer's jurisdiction written notice of the place of the prisoner's imprisonment and the prisoner's request for a final disposition to be made of the indictment, information, or complaint; provided that for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or the prisoner's counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction of the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by a certificate of the appropriate official having custody of the prisoner, stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time already served, the time remaining to be served on the sentence, the amount of good time earned, the time of parole eligibility of the prisoner, and any decisions of the state parole agency relating to the prisoner. (b) The written notice and request for final disposition required under subsection (a) of this section shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden, commissioner of corrections, or other official having custody of the prisoner, who shall promptly forward it together with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting official and court by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. (c) The warden, commissioner of corrections, or other official having custody of the prisoner shall promptly inform the prisoner of the source and contents of any detainer lodged against the prisoner and shall also inform the prisoner of the prisoner's right to make a request for final disposition of the indictment, information, or complaint on which the detainer is based. (d) Any request for final disposition made by a prisoner under subsection (a) of this section shall operate as a request for final disposition of all untried indictments, informations, or complaints on the basis of which detainers have been lodged against the prisoner from the state to whose prosecuting official the request for final disposition is specifically directed. The warden, commissioner of corrections, or other official having custody of the prisoner shall forthwith notify all appropriate prosecuting officers and courts in the several jurisdictions within the state to which the prisoner's request for final disposition is being sent of the proceeding being initiated by the prisoner. Any notification sent under this subsection shall be accompanied by copies of the prisoner's written notice, request, and the certificate. If trial is not had on any indictment, information, or complaint contemplated hereby prior to the return of the prisoner to the original place of imprisonment, the indictment, information, or complaint shall not be of any further force or effect, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice. (e) Any request for final disposition made by a prisoner under subsection (a) of this section shall also be deemed to be a waiver of extradition with respect to any charge or proceeding contemplated thereby or included therein by reason of subsection (d) of this section, and a waiver of extradition to the receiving state to serve any sentence there imposed on the prisoner, after completion of the prisoner's term of imprisonment in the sending state. The request for final disposition shall also constitute a consent by the prisoner to the production of the prisoner's body in any court where the prisoner's presence may be required in order to effectuate the purposes of this Agreement and a further consent voluntarily to be returned to the original place of imprisonment in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the imposition of a concurrent sentence if otherwise permitted by law. (f) Escape from custody by the prisoner subsequent to the prisoner's execution of the request for final disposition described in subsection (a) of this section shall void the request. #### Section 8-406 Article IV (a) The appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information, or complaint is pending shall be entitled to have the prisoner against whom the officer has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party state made available in accordance with Sec. 8-407(a) of this subtitle (Article V (a) of the Agreement) upon presentation of a written request for temporary custody or availability to the appropriate authorities of the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated; provided that the court having jurisdiction of the indictment, information, or complaint shall have duly approved, recorded, and transmitted the request; and provided further that there shall be a period of 30 days after receipt by the appropriate authorities before the request be honored, within which period the governor of the sending state may disapprove the request for temporary custody or availability either upon the governor's own motion or upon motion of the prisoner. (b) Upon receipt of the officer's written request as provided under subsection (a) of this section, the appropriate authorities having the prisoner in custody shall furnish the officer with a certificate stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time already served, the time remaining to be served on the sentence, the amount of good time earned, the time of parole eligibility of the prisoner, and any decisions of the state parole agency relating to the prisoner. The authorities simultaneously shall furnish all other officers and appropriate courts in the receiving state who have lodged detainers against the prisoner with similar certificates and with notices informing them of the request for custody or availability and of the reasons therefor. (c) In respect of any proceeding made possible by this section (Article IV of the Agreement), trial shall be commenced within 120 days of the arrival of the prisoner in the receiving state, but for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or the prisoner's counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction of the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. (d) Nothing contained in this section (Article IV of the Agreement) shall be construed to deprive any prisoner of any right that the prisoner may have to contest the legality of the prisoner's delivery under subsection (a) of this section, but the delivery may not be opposed or denied on the ground that the executive authority of the sending state has not affirmatively consented to or ordered the delivery. (e) If trial is not had on any indictment, information, or complaint contemplated hereby prior to the prisoner's being returned to the original place of imprisonment under Sec. 8-407(e) of this subtitle (Article V (e) of the Agreement), the indictment, information, or complaint shall not be of any further force or effect, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the indictment, information, or complaint with prejudice. #### Section 8-407 Article V (a) In response to a request made under Sec. 8-405 or Sec. 8-406 of this subtitle (Article III or IV of the Agreement), the appropriate authority in a sending state shall offer to deliver temporary custody of the prisoner to the appropriate authority in the state where the indictment, information, or complaint is pending against the prisoner in order that speedy and efficient prosecution may be had. If the request for final disposition is made by the prisoner, the offer of temporary custody shall accompany the written notice required under Sec. 8-405 of this subtitle (Article III of the Agreement). In the case of a federal prisoner, the appropriate authority in the receiving state shall be entitled to temporary custody as provided by this Agreement or to the prisoner's presence in federal custody at the place for trial, whichever custodial arrangement may be approved by the custodian. (b) The officer or other representative of a state accepting an offer of temporary custody shall present the following upon demand: (1) proper identification and evidence of the officer's authority to act for the state into whose temporary custody the prisoner is to be given; and (2) a duly certified copy of the indictment, information, or complaint on the basis of which the detainer has been lodged and on the basis of which the request for temporary custody of the prisoner has been made. (c) If the appropriate authority shall refuse or fail to accept temporary custody of the person, or in the event that an action on the indictment, information, or complaint on the basis of which the detainer has been lodged is not brought to trial within the period provided in Sec. 8-405 or Sec. 8-406 of this subtitle (Article III or IV of the Agreement), the appropriate court of the jurisdiction where the indictment, information, or complaint has been pending shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice, and any detainer based on the indictment, information, or complaint shall cease to be of any force or effect. (d) The temporary custody referred to in this Agreement shall be only for the purpose of permitting prosecution on the charge or charges contained in one or more untried indictments, informations, or complaints that form the basis of the detainer or detainers or for prosecution on any other charge or charges arising out of the same transaction. Except for the prisoner's attendance at court and while being transported to or from any place at which the prisoner's presence may be required, the prisoner shall be held in a suitable jail or other facility regularly used for persons awaiting prosecution. (e) At the earliest practicable time consonant with the purposes of this Agreement, the prisoner shall be returned to the sending state. (f) During the continuance of temporary custody or while the prisoner is otherwise being made available for trial as required by this Agreement, time being served on the sentence shall continue to run but good time shall be earned by the prisoner only if, and to the extent that, the law and practice of the jurisdiction that imposed the sentence may allow. (g) For all purposes other than that for which temporary custody as provided in this Agreement is exercised, the prisoner shall be deemed to remain in the custody of and subject to the jurisdiction of the sending state. Any escape from temporary custody may be dealt with in the same manner as an escape from the original place of imprisonment or in any other manner permitted by law. (h) From the time that a party state receives custody of a prisoner under this Agreement until the prisoner is returned to the territory and custody of the sending state, the state in which the one or more untried indictments, informations, or complaints are pending or in which trial is being had shall be responsible for the prisoner and shall also pay all costs of transporting, caring for, keeping, and returning the prisoner. The provisions of this subsection shall govern unless the states concerned shall have entered into a supplementary agreement providing for a different allocation of costs and responsibilities as between or among themselves. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to alter or affect any internal relationship among the departments, agencies, and officers of and in the government of a party state, or between a party state and its subdivisions, as to the payment of costs, or responsibilities therefor. #### Section 8-408 Article VI (a) In determining the duration and expiration dates of the time periods provided in Sec.Sec. 8-405 and 8-406 of this subtitle (Articles III and IV of the Agreement), the running of these time periods shall be tolled whenever and for as long as the prisoner is unable to stand trial, as determined by the court having jurisdiction of the matter. (b) No provision of this Agreement, and no remedy made available by this Agreement, shall apply to any person who is adjudged to be mentally ill. #### Section 8-409 Article VII Each state party to this Agreement shall designate an officer who, acting jointly with like officers of other party states, shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out more effectively the terms and provisions of this Agreement, and who shall provide, within and without the state, information necessary to the effective operation of this Agreement. #### Section 8-410 Article VIII This Agreement shall enter into full force and effect as to a party state when the state has enacted this Agreement into law. A state party to this Agreement may withdraw herefrom by enacting a statute repealing the Agreement. However, the withdrawal of any state shall not affect the status of any proceedings already initiated by prisoners or by state officers at the time the withdrawal takes effect, nor shall it affect their rights in respect thereof. #### Section 8-411 Article IX This Agreement shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate its purposes. The provisions of this Agreement shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this Agreement is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Agreement and the applicability of the remainder of this Agreement to any government, agency, person, or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this Agreement shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state party hereto, the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters. #### Section 8-412 All courts, departments, agencies, officers, and employees of the State and its political subdivisions shall enforce the Agreement and cooperate with one another and other party states in enforcing the Agreement and effectuating its purpose. #### Section 8-413 If an individual legally detained and confined in a correctional institution in this State, who, by reason of application of the Agreement, is delivered into temporary custody of a party state as provided in Sec. 8-407 of this subtitle (Article V of the Agreement) and subsequently escapes or attempts to escape from the temporary custody, the escape or attempt to escape shall be punishable under the laws of this State as if the individual had escaped or attempted to escape from a correctional institution in this State. #### Section 8-414 The managing official of a correctional institution in this State shall transfer an incarcerated individual as required by operation of the Agreement. #### Section 8-415 The Attorney General is designated as the officer to carry out the provisions of Sec. 8-409 of this subtitle (Article VII of the Agreement) and to adopt regulations as stipulated in that section. #### Section 8-416 As to any request by an individual confined in another party state for trial in this State, written notice may not be deemed to have been delivered to the prosecuting officer and the appropriate court of this State in accordance with Sec. 8-405(a) (Article III (a) of the Agreement) of this subtitle and notification may not be deemed to have been given in accordance with Sec. 8-405(d) or Sec. 8-406(b) of this subtitle (Article III (d) and Article IV (b) of the Agreement) until the notice or notification is actually received by the appropriate court and the appropriate State's Attorney of this State, the State's Attorney's deputy or assistant, or any other person empowered to receive mail on behalf of the State's Attorney. #### Section 8-417 An individual delivered to the custody of another party state under this subtitle shall be allowed or shall forfeit any diminution of the individual's term of confinement under Title 3, Subtitle 7 of this article as may be determined by the Commissioner of Correction in each case. --- Md. Code Ann., Corr. Servs. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)