Recently, our office represented a criminal defendant who had been charged with prostitution in Baltimore City, MD. She was facing up to one year in jail and a $500.00 fine if she was found guilty. However, the possible immigration consequences were even more severe – deportation from the U.S. Our…
In the recently filed case Edward Charles Schmitt v. State of Maryland, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals considered whether evidence was sufficient to convict a man of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor where the minor was not aware of the abuse or exploitation. The defendant moved in…
Recently Maryland has been considering criminal bills related to the special protection of minors. This year, the “Misuse of Interactive Computer Service” bill, also known as “Grace’s Law”, is expected to be signed into law. Sponsored by Senator Allen Kittleman, it is a General Assembly bill named after a high…
The Maryland Court of Appeal recently considered a case, Waker v. State, which should be important to all criminal defendants. Prior to a 2009 amendment, a Maryland theft statute provided that theft of something worth not more than $500 was a misdemeanor not to be punished by more than 18…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals recently ruled in Tubaya v. State of Maryland, an appeal based on the prohibition against double jeopardy in our Constitution. The case arose on June 27, 2011, when Valencia Tubaya pushed into the home of her older parents. She held a “sharp metal object” against…
The Maryland Senate approved a gun-control bill in February that would make it the strictest gun control state in the nation. Governor Martin O’Malley proposed the bill. The key piece of the legislation (and the most controversial) is that it tightens restrictions on gun purchases by residents committed for mental…
Recently, our office represented a criminal defendant who had been charged with 8 traffic citations: driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), driving under the influence of alcohol per se (DUI per se), driving while intoxicated by alcohol (DWI), failure to reduce speed on a curve, negligent driving of a…
In April 2009, Alonzo J. King, Jr. pointed a shotgun at some people. One of them told the police and King admitted his guilt. He was arrested in Wicomico County. Police then swabbed skin cells from inside his cheek. They tested the DNA, even though he admitted his guilt in…
Marijuana law reform is underway in Maryland. There are currently three medical marijuana proposals before the state legislature. Two of these will institute a state-run commission for research. The third bill—House Bill 302—requires the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to oversee the regulation of dispensaries. If it passes, patients…
The Court of Special Appeals in Maryland recently considered an interesting question of criminal law: whether a trial judge may condition probation on no direct contact between a defendant and his victim, even when the two are married and want to be together. Lambert v. State arose in 2009, when…