Police in a wealthy suburb outside of Philadelphia recently arrested a 24-year old Maryland woman for allegedly attempting to deliver 100 pounds of marijuana to buyers waiting in a parking garage. The marijuana was described by police as high grade, and apparently worth as much as $200,000 on the street. …
Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Governor Orders Expedited Release of Some Prisoners
Over the weekend the governor signed an order that should expedite the release of hundreds of Maryland prisoners. There are some caveats to the order, and it only applies to prisoners serving sentences in the state-run Division of Corrections. The governor had received multiple formal requests to consider measures to…
Drug Crime Falling
Overall crime appears to be on the downturn during the coronavirus pandemic, but drug crimes may be falling at especially high levels. The city of Chicago has more yearly crime than many states in America, but over the past month drug arrests have plummeted by 42%. While Baltimore and D.C.…
Citizens Arrested For Executive Order Violations
It has been a little over one month since the governor declared a state of emergency in Maryland due to the outbreak of COVID-19, and multiple executive orders have followed. The most recent order reaffirmed the governor’s decision to close non-essential businesses such as fitness centers, bars, theaters, malls, tanning…
Maryland Court Closure Extended
Last week the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals issued an order extending the closure of all state courts to the public through May 1, 2020. Anyone who had a criminal trial set in the Month of April will have their case automatically reset to a later date, likely…
Baltimore Dismissing Certain New Criminal Cases
Last week the Baltimore City State’s Attorney made headlines for publicly directing her prosecutors to dismiss numerous non-violent cases. The cases that will be dismissed involve defendants who are arrested on new charges in Baltimore City during these extremely unique times. The charges specifically mentioned by the State’s Attorney include…
Bail Reviews Heard During Maryland Court Closure
On Friday the Chief Judge of Maryland’s highest court signed an administrative order closing all state courthouses to the public for at least the next three weeks. The announcement may have initially been a surprise, but as the impact of the coronavirus continued to unfold it was clear the judiciary…
Lawmakers Propose Automatic Expungements
As the Maryland criminal code continues to evolve with the times there is an increasing need to address the issue of expungement. Maryland has a fair and user-friendly expungement process, and in most cases, there is no fee to apply. Lawmakers already did away with the $30 application fee for…
Former Mayor Sentenced to Prison
The notorious former mayor of Baltimore City learned her fate last week in federal court, and will now have to serve three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The 69-year old must also pay over $400,000 in restitution to victims of her crimes, and forfeit almost…
Governor and Lawmakers Spar Over Crime Bills
The Maryland governor has not been shy about his strong desire to do whatever is necessary to curb gun violence in Baltimore City, and he recently called out state lawmakers for dragging their feet on enacting stricter gun legislation. Since the 2020 legislative session began in January there have been…