The amount the county paid to outside attorneys rose 18% from the previous year to $75 million — nearly double what the county spent four years ago.

Maryland’s Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of a 2023 law that ended the state’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits following a report that exposed widespread wrongdoing within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The decision resolves challenges that said lawsuits were unconstitutional, lawyers representing abuse survivors says.