STATE OF MARYLAND v. KELSEY SAMPLES
Court of Special Appeals, Graeff, Sept. 1, 2016,
Charging – The State may charge a misdemeanor offense by criminal information in Circuit Court without holding a preliminary hearing

So… basically this was just the Court of Special Appeals reading the Rule book to the Circuit Court. It would have been funnier to just “remand for consideration in light of MD Rule 4-103”

Under CP 4-103 “a defendant has an absolute right to a preliminary hearing only when he or she is charged by criminal information and he or she is charged with a felony other than a felony within the jurisdiction of the District Court. In any other case, a defendant does not have an absolute right to a preliminary hearing.”