 The Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court, agreed to hear the state's appeal in 2006, bypassing the intermediate court.To the surprise of spectators, there were almost no questions from the judges during oral argument, which took place on December 4, 2006, causing speculation that the court may have taken the appeal just to reverse the Circuit Court ruling.On September 18, 2007, the court issued its decision in "Conaway v. Deane", overturning the trial court ruling for the plaintiffs in a 4–3 decision, and holding that the statutory ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the Maryland Constitution.