Maryland Criminal Attorney Blog
In this Maryland criminal case, Defendant Dillard was charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and related offenses. Detective Smith was the State’s primary witness. During trial, it was brought to the court’s attention that during a lunch break two jurors walked by Detective Smith, patted him on the back and said “good job.” The defense attorney moved for a mistrial. The State asserted a mistrial was not necessary because the jurors had not made a specific comment about their opinions of Dillard’s guilt. The trial judge denied the motion for mistrial and refused to replace one of the jurors with an alternate. The jury convicted Dillard. Dillard appealed to the Court of Special Appeals which affirmed the trial judge. The Court of Appeals reversed Dillard’s conviction. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court’s failure to conduct a voir dire examination of the jurors to determine whether the jurors had reached a premature conclusion as to Dillard’s guilt or formed fixed opinions constituted an abuse of discretion.
George Hugely’s Emails Have Significant Evidentiary Value
It has become apparent from recent Freedom of Information Act disclosures that George Hugely had sent threatening emails shortly before his former girlfriend, Yeardley Love, was found murdered. After the incident, Hugely’s lawyer tried to characterize Love’s death as an “accident.” Hugely, of course, is facing first degree murder charges.
DUI Subsequent Offender Receives Probation
As a Baltimore Maryland DUI/DWI Attorney I often represent people in DUI/DWI cases who have previously been convicted of a DUI or DWI in the past. These defendants are known as repeat or subsequent offenders in courthouse vernacular. Over the past few years prosecutors have begun to seek and judges have started to impose, harsher and harsher penalties including incarceration, even for defendants with only one prior offense. It is now pretty common for second offenders to receive 30 days or more and defendants with two or more prior convictions to serve sentences of six months or longer.
I blogged about a case a few weeks ago that I got involved after the sentence had been imposed and tried unsuccessfully to reverse the damage. In that case the defendant did not get into an accident, blew a .16 and had only one prior occurring 11 years prior to the second. He received a sentence of 4 months to serve in the Baltimore City Jail after the case was badly mishandled by his attorney. I represented a similarly situated second offender in the exact same court last week with a completely different outcome. Here are the facts.
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DUI Second Offender Sentenced to Four Months in Baltimore City
As a Baltimore Maryland DUI/DWI Lawyer I handle DUI’s almost every day in the District Courts of Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Because I am always in court I am often in a position to watch other attorneys handle, and in many cases mishandle, DUI cases. I have blogged many times in the past about these cases usually positing the question, “are you being represented by the right lawyer”.
I recently got involved in a DUI case that was badly mishandled by another attorney in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Here are the facts:
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Federal Drug Case Motion to Suppress
As a Former Assistant United State’s Attorney and current Maryland Federal Criminal Attorney I have handled hundreds of Federal Drug Cases. Before as a prosecutor and now as a defense attorney I am often amazed at how quickly and often lawyers plead their client’s guiilty in highly defensible cases.
I take the opposite approach and employ a scorched earth policy of fighting every case on every level before even considering a plea to include attacking the validity of search warrants which many attorneys never even consider. Here is a written motion to suppress we filed in a case recently attacking the warrant and moving to suppress the evidence.
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On Appeal, Firm Frees Defendant Serving 10 Year Sentence
Today in the case of State v. Campbell, Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin and White’s criminal appeals lawyers convinced the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to reverse a Circuit Court for Baltimore County Judge thereby winning the freedom of a client serving a ten year sentence-without parole. The firm did not represent the client at the trial, but after the bad result, was retained to handle the appeal.
The Facts:
Baltimore County police see a drug transaction conducted from a Lincoln navigator. The police stop the buyer who says he bought drugs from the vehicle. The police lose sight of the vehicle. Four hours later, the police stop the car with guns drawn. The defense argued there was no probable cause to stop the vehicle four hours later because the police had no description of the sellers of narcotics four hours before. Judge Dana Levitz of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County said there was probable cause and sentenced the defendant to ten years without parole.
The Court of Special Appeals vacated the conviction and agreed that there was no probable cause to arrest the occupants of the vehicle when there was no reason to believe that the same persons who operated the vehicle earlier were occupying the vehicle at the time of the arrest.
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Maryland Court of Special Appeals Vacates First Degree Murder Conviction
Today, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals vacated a murder conviction because defendant’s right to counsel violated.
Facts:
The victim was stabbed in Hagerstown Maryland. Based on a review of images captured by security cameras, Adams was a suspect. Adams fled the scene but was picked up on a parole violation in Baltimore. He was brought back to Hagerstown for questioning. He was advised of his rights per Miranda, executed a waiver and made inculpatory statements. Adams was then charged with first degree murder and counsel entered his appearance. Months later, the prosecutor asked the detective to serve on Adams the notice seeking life without parole. The detective went to the detention center. Criminal defense counsel was not present. After seeing the notice, Adams said “why is the state going after me so hard?” The detective said “because you stabbed a guy 32 times.” Adams responded that he only stabbed the guy seven times and then went into detail about where he stabbed him. Defense counsel moved to suppress the statements. The trial court denied his motion.
Ruling:
The Court of Appeals, citing Edwards v. Arizona and other cases, noted that there were no Miranda warnings given at the second meeting and therefore there was no intentional knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to have counsel of record present. The Court held that, under the totality of the circumstances, any reasonable police officer would have reasonably anticipated Adams would respond to the detective’s accusation and that regardless if the detective acted in good faith, this encounter was the functional equivalent of interrogation.
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Supreme Court Rules Life without Parole Sentence For Juvenile Offender Violates Eighth Amendment Prohibition Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment
As a Baltimore Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney, I routinely handle matters charged in the juvenile courts of Baltimore County, Baltimore City and throughout the metropolitan area. Last week the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Graham v, Florida, in what amounted to the most significant case concerning juvenile sentencing since it ruled that juvenile offenders could not face capital punishment.
In Graham, the Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that juvenile offenders could not face a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for crimes other than murder. The 6-3 spread is a little deceiving as Chief Justice Roberts agreed with the result in the Graham case but did not concur with the blanket prohibition on life without parole sentence adopted by the majority. Instead, Roberts opined that the sentences should be looked at on a “case by case” basis. Here are the facts of the Graham case:
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Attempted First Degree Murder Charges Dropped After Typical Case of Overcharging by the Baltimore City Police
As a Baltimore Maryland Criminal Attorney I am often confronted with cases in which the Baltimore City Police (and occasionally police from other jurisdictions) take a simple misdemeanor case and charge it as a major felony. I have blogged about overcharging by the Baltimore City Police in the past and unfortunately it seems to be happening more and more frequently. Although these cases are typically reduced by State’s Attorney’s Office at the preliminary hearing, the fact that the police originally charged the case as a felony can result in major negative implications for the person charged.
First of all, the fact that the case was overcharged will almost invariably result in a much higher bail than would have otherwise been set had the case been properly charged as a misdemeanor. The increased bail amount will at best cost the defendant additional money to secure bail and at worst, cause the person to have to remain in jail until the case is set in for the preliminary hearing or even until the trial which could be months in the future. Also, the expungement statute precludes a person from having any count in a charging document expunged if the person is eventually convicted of any count. With criminal records so readily available these days on the Internet, having felony charges on one’s record, even if they are eventually dismissed, can cause serious problems for people in a variety of areas including employment, especially in today’s job market. I recently represented a person who was charged with attempted first degree murder for what was nothing more than a misdemeanor second degree assault. As in most cases, the overcharging of the case caused severe repercussions for the client. Here are the facts of the case:
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Date Rape Charges Dropped Against Baltimore College Student
https://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1300820.htmlAs Baltimore Maryland Criminal Attorneys, we are often called upon to defend college students and other young people who are charged with what is commonly termed “date rape” allegations. These allegations invariably involve young women who are highly intoxicated on drugs or alcohol engaging in sexual activity that they later allege was non-consensual. The vast majority of these cases involve situations wherein the young woman involved became voluntarily intoxicated but we have seen several cases in which the so called “date rape drug” was found to be in the alleged victim’s system.
We have successfully defended a large number of these cases many of which having occurred on or around one of the numerous college campuses in the area. We recently defended an individual in just such as case and were able to have all charges against him dismissed prior to trial. This particular individual did not retain us until after he was charged which was a mistake on his part as we have successfully prevented many similarly situated individuals from ever being charged. Here are the facts of the case:
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Contested Maryland DUI Cases, Two Bites at the Apple!
Most defendants charged with DUI, DWI and other drunk driving crimes in Maryland do not realise their right to appeal and have a brand new trial. All misdemeanor criminal and traffic charges in Maryland are first tried in the District Court. If a defendant is not satisfied with the judge’s decision, the defendant can appeal to the Circuit Court. Under the Maryland Rules, this is called an appeal de novo. An appeal de novo wipes the slate clean and is a brand new trial. Whether the appeal is a new trial heard by a jury or a plea bargain before a judge, it completely replaces the original decision in the District Court. Often times in difficult cases, it is sound strategy to take a shot in District court and if it is not favorable, appeal.
As experienced Maryland DUI lawyers, we have found that in difficult cases, our clients often fair much better on appeal than in the original trial. This is usually due to the fact that the higher court is used to dealing with the most serious crimes and a DUI is, relatively speaking, not as serious as murders, rapes, and other crimes the higher court is accustomed to dealing with. It may also have something to do with the fact that delay is always a friend of the defense for several reasons.
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It is illegal to drink and drive in Maryland, but what is the meaning of “drive”?
Often times in Maryland DUI prosecutions, there is an issue of whether the defendant was actually behind the wheel or driving. This often comes up when the defendant pulls over to “sleep it off”.
The term “drive” as used in the Maryland drunk driver statutes means to drive, operate, move or be in actual physical control over a vehicle. This includes control over the steering of a vehicle that is being towed.
The seminal Maryland case on this issue is Atkinson v. State, 331 Md 199 (1993). In Atkinson, Maryland court of Appeals has determined that in situations where the driver is simply using his car for shelter until sober enough to drive, the driver can not be prosecuted for DUI. As long as the occupant is totally passive and has not made any attempts to actively control the vehicle. he is immune from a DUI prosecution in Maryland.
What constitutes “actual physical control” includes 1) whether the vehicle is legally parked or on a public roadway, 2) whether the vehicle’s headlights are on, 3) whether the ignition is on and the engine is running, 4) whether the driver is awake, 5) where in the vehicle is the occupant (driver’s seat or back seat makes a significance difference), and 6) the physical location of the ignition key.
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Huguely Attacked Another Student in Sleep, Defense of “Accident” Loses All Credibility
Based upon sources in Baltimore, it is confirmed that George Huguely brutally attacked a University of Virginia male lacrosse player in his sleep in 2009. Eerily similar to the alleged attack and murder of Yeardlay Love, Huguely bloodied the face and caused head trauma to his teammate. The attack, which occurred last year, apparently was a retaliatory act against the teammate for allegedly kissing Love. It is also reported that Huguely was intoxicated during this attack as well.
Huguely Defense of “Accident” Appears More Ridiculous in Light of Newly Disclosed Run-Ins with the Law
Yesterday I posted a blog critical of George Huguely’s defense counsel for coming out of the gate and describing this murder an “accident with a tragic outcome”. I suggested that such a statement, if not supported by the facts, would forever undermine the credibility of the defense. Newly disclosed developments have boldened my position.
Today it is being reported that Huguely has two (2) prior run-ins with the law in Florida dating back to 2007. First he was charged with possession of alcohol as a minor in Palm Beach, and then police were called to intervene in a “very heated” argument involving his father and cousin.
These incidents proceed a 2008 arrest and conviction in Lexington Virginia where he was Tasered by police while shouting “I’ll kill all you bitches” to a female officer.
A lawyer needs to be very carefull about what he says in the early stages of a high-profile murder case that has peeked a communities interet or rage. I was cognizent of this in my statements to the media after the bail review in the Nicholas Browning multiple homicide case. I am surprised the Huguely defense was not tempered as well. The Huguely defense team, by calling this an “accident” has done irreputable harm to the goals of the defense, but arguably not to the ultimte goal of justice.
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Federal Wiretap Criminal Defense-Suppression of the Evidence
As a Maryland Federal Criminal Attorney/Lawyer and former Assistant United State’s Attorney for more than a decade, I have handled more than my share of Federal Wiretap Cases involving allegations of large scale distribution of narcotics. As a federal prosecutor, I prosecuted many of these cases and since leaving the United State’s Attorney’s Office, I have defended many more. These cases are among the most complicated criminal cases in the system. To defend these cases properly it is necessary to file carefully thought out motions along with meticulously researched and written legal memorandum. It takes years of experience to handle these high stakes cases properly. Here is an example of a brief that was filed and resulted in the suppression of all evidence in a Federal Wiretap Case here in Baltimore.:
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