Maryland’s HB 969: When a Death Certificate Changes, the Case Must Be Reopened
By Sherri Warren
For 39 years, my brother’s death certificate said “suicide.” For most of those years, my family was told there was nothing left to investigate.
In March 2024, I sat in front of the Maryland Senate Finance Committee and testified in favor of House Bill 969, the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act. I told them what it is like to prove a ruling wrong and still have no one required to act on it.
The bill passed. The Governor signed it on May 16, 2024, and it became law on October 1, 2024.
What the law says
When a medical examiner changes the cause or manner of death on a death certificate to “undetermined” or “homicide,” four things are now required:
- The medical examiner must notify the State’s Attorney and the local law enforcement agency where the body was found.
- The family gets a new certified death certificate at no cost.
- Law enforcement must reopen or reinvestigate the case and keep it open for at least 20 years.
- The family can ask for a meeting. An assistant State’s Attorney who knows the case must meet with you within 20 days of your request. If no investigation is being pursued, they have to tell you why.
Before this law, a family could win the change on paper and still be left with a closed case.
What it did for Keith
In April 2024, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner notified me that it would change Keith’s manner of death. The change became official in February 2025, from “Suicide” to “Undetermined.” It took four separate copies, issued at four different times, before I had the finalized certificate in my hands on August 4, 2025.
In October 2025, the Montgomery County Police Department reopened my brother’s case.
That did not happen because someone finally decided to do the right thing. It happened because the law now requires it.
If your family is in this position
- Read every copy of the certificate. Check that the manner of death, the dates, and the signatures are correct before you accept it as final. It took me four.
- Do not assume the notice was sent. Write to the police department and the State’s Attorney’s office yourself. Include a copy of the amended certificate and name the law: House Bill 969, Chapter 829 of 2024.
- Ask for the meeting in writing. Keep the date you sent it. The 20 days start with your request.
- Pay attention to dates. The law took effect October 1, 2024. If your loved one’s certificate was changed before then, talk with an attorney about how the law applies to you.
- Keep a record of everything. Every letter, every email, every name, every date.
This law does not change the ruling itself. Getting a medical examiner to correct a death certificate is a separate process, and I have written about that here: [link to your HB 863 post].
Why I am sharing this
My mother spent 23 years asking for an investigation and died without one. This law would have given her something to stand on. I want every family who comes after us to know it exists.
Read the law: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0969?ys=2024RS
This post is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and every case is different. Please speak with an attorney about your situation.
— Sherri Warren, Executive Director, The Keith Warren Justice Foundation
