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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 had no other option.  It is important to know that the closure only applies to the public and not judiciary employees.  The district and circuit courthouses will continue to operate, and judges will continue to issue rulings on motions.  All criminal trials and most other hearings will be postponed.  One of the main exceptions is that bail reviews will still proceed as normal.  Defendants arrested during the next three weeks will still see the district court commissioner within 24 hours to determine whether bail, pre-trial supervision or recognizance is appropriate.  If release is denied by the commissioner, defendants will then see a district court judge at a video bail review the next business day.  In Baltimore City it could take two business days to see the judge, and as many as 3 or 4 total days if the arrest occurred on a Friday.   Defendants arrested on circuit court arrest warrants will be taken before a circuit court judge the next business day, and those with preset bails will be permitted have bail bondsmen post.  It is unclear at this point whether family members will be permitted to attend bail review hearings. The most likely scenario is that attendance will be limited to the defendant’s lawyer.

In addition to bail reviews proceeding as normal, habeas corpus motions will also be heard in the circuit courts.  Habeas corpus motions are filed when a district court judge denies bail, and are typically the fastest and sometimes only way to have a defendant released prior to trial.  Habeas motions are popular in larger jurisdictions such as Baltimore County, where the turnaround time of 10 days to 2 weeks will likely speed up due to the postponement of most other hearings.  Habeas motions are often successful due to the circuit court judges having the experience and knowledge required to make the unpopular decision to release a defendant who is facing serious charges.  It is safe to say at least some district court judges are known for not abiding by the principal of using the least restrictive means to assure the public’s safety and the defendant’s return to court.

Other district and circuit court hearings that will proceed normally include peace order and protective order petitions, arraignments, initial appearances, extradition hearings, and various juvenile hearings such as shelter hearings and juvenile detention hearings.  Contempt hearings and appeals from district court peace orders will also be held in the circuit court.  The judge also included text in the order to allow the courts to conduct quarantine and isolation hearings should they be placed into effect during this extraordinary time.  We obviously hope these lines prove to be merely a precautionary measure.

This past Friday night a Baltimore Police sergeant was conducting a routine check on a local business when a suspect allegedly became irate and spat in the officer’s face.  A struggle ensued after the officer attempted to arrest the suspect, and both men ended up wresting on the sidewalk.  The incident attracted a crowd of bystanders, and at least three of those bystanders were seen on cell phone video kicking the officer during the struggle.  On Monday, law enforcement reported that two men and one male juvenile have been arrested for their actions toward the police sergeant.  The two male defendants are both under the age of 24, with one hailing from Dundalk, and the other from Windsor Mill.  No identifying information about the juvenile has been released, except that he is 17.  The two men have been charged with assault on a police officer, which is a felony under Maryland law.  Assault on a police officer, firefighter or any other first responder carries the same 10-year maximum penalty as 2^nd degree misdemeanor assault, but scores higher on the sentencing guidelines.  The two men were also charged with interfering arrest, which is a 3-year misdemeanor.  Interfering arrest is the listed under the same statue as resisting arrest, and both carry the same penalties.

The blog will continue to follow the prosecutions of the two men who were charged in the highly publicized case.  Both the mayor of Baltimore and the Maryland governor have already weighed in, calling the incident disgusting and appalling.  This means there will be increased pressure on the State’s Attorney’s Office to assure both men are punished.  The police officer did not appear to suffer any serious injuries from the assault, as the majority of kicks were focused on the officer’s buttocks.  Still, the case will be under a microscope and the chances are high that the men will not be treated the same as defendants in a non-publicized case.  The hope is always that the judge who presides over the case will not bow to any outside pressures and judge the case entirely on the facts presented at trial or sentencing.

In addition to the incident and the subsequent arrests three days later, the other headline surrounding the video recorded melee was the public sparring between the police union and the mayor of Baltimore.  The police union released a statement basically calling out the city’s leadership for its inability to establish any type of plan or direction to reduce the rising crime rate.  The union’s press release argued that the public will continue to disrespect city police and the crime rate will not go down until new leadership is elected.  In no uncertain terms the powerful police union basically said the current administration is unfit to serve the city’s needs.  The mayor’s office responded that the union leadership should spend more time out on the streets of Baltimore, which is not really a logical response.  The mayor’s office would be better served avoiding public bickering and focusing instead on making Baltimore a better and safer city.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently announced that a former dealer at a Maryland casino was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a card table scam, which resulted in the casino losing in excess of $1 million. The convicted defendant will be placed on probation after he is released from prison, and ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,046,560. The scam took place at the Baccarat table, where the dealer conspired with players by giving them a glimpse of the cards before they were placed in the shoe to be dealt. The players involved in the conspiracy would then drastically increase their bets when the previously revealed cards were about to be dealt into the game. The government did not state how it caught on to the scam or whether there were any cooperating defendants, but all bets are on camera and large winnings will always be scrutinized by casino security. In this particular case the FBI eventually became involved likely due to the large amount of money that was involved in the conspiracy, and the fact that the scheme took place in more than one county. The defendant admitted that he taught other co-conspirators at a different casino about the scam, and then was paid a percentage of the illegitimate winnings. According to the government to scheme took place from July 2017 to September 2017.

The actual charge the former dealer pled to was conspiracy to transport stolen funds, which is a felony under federal law. The defendant likely would have faced a great deal more than 18 months in prison if he unsuccessfully took his case to trial. Typically when there is a theft or fraud case with a large amount of restitution the judge will take into account that a long prison sentence will negatively impact the defendant’s ability to repay the money to the victim. Some victims will tell the judge their main concern is recovering the stolen money, which usually benefits the defendant. Defendants that are spared a large prison sentence in order to pay restitution may find themselves back before the court on a violation of probation if they do not pay the money. Some judges have reservations about jailing a defendant for failing to pay restitution, but if no effort is made then judges will say they have no choice. The Blog will follow this story and may post another article if there is news from the Greenbelt federal courthouse about any of the co-defendants. The FBI will continue to be involved with fraud cases at the Maryland casinos in order to punish those involved and send a message to future offenders. There are so many new casinos popping up around the country and many can be vulnerable to theft schemes due to inexperienced or improperly trained security staff.

The legalization of casino gambling several years ago has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the state of Maryland, but there are now numerous criminal cases coming from the numerous casino cases across the state. Maryland Live in Anne Arundel County, MGM in Prince George’s County and the Horseshoe in Baltimore City are the largest and most visited casinos in the state, and also the source of the numerous criminal charges. Casinos take all offenses committed on their property extremely seriously and often have overzealous security staff who are itching to have patrons charged. Benjamin Herbst has represented dozens of defendants charged with crimes at the Maryland casinos, and is available for a free consultation anytime at 410-207-2598. Benjamin has handled casino theft, counterfeit currency, gun possession and trespass charges occurring at the Maryland casinos. He also specializes in federal conspiracy charges, representing out of state defendants, and defendants facing violations of the Maryland Voluntary Exclusion Program.

There are a number of different ways to appeal or modify a criminal case in Maryland, and the rights of a defendant depend on where the case took place and whether it ended in a plea or a trial. All defendants with cases heard in the District Court of Maryland have an absolute right to appeal the outcome within 30 days to the circuit court. This includes criminal cases, traffic citations, peace orders, protective orders and civil cases. The appeal must be filed in writing with the district court clerk, and if the 30^th day falls on a weekend or holiday the next business day is the final day. District court cases that are appealed will be assigned a new case number in the circuit court, and start over form scratch, which is called a de novo appeal. The circuit court judge will not (or is not supposed to) place any weight on the verdict or judgment from the district court in making his or her rulings.

The amount of time it takes for an appeal to be scheduled in circuit court depends on the jurisdiction. It can be as little as a few weeks in some, and a few months in others. During the time between the appeal and the new circuit court date a defendant who was placed on probation is still required to report as directed. If jail time was a part of the sentence, the defendant may still be required to serve unless the sentence is stayed or the defendant posts an appeal bond. The one exception to the automatic appeal rule is cases where probation before judgment is granted and accepted. Defendants who receive PBJ in any case waive their right to appeal to the circuit court, and their case is effectively over once the sentence is announced. The right to an automatic circuit court appeal is the same regardless of whether the case went to trial or the defendant took a plea.

Appealing a Maryland circuit court case is an entirely different animal, and the defendant’s rights depend on whether the case ended in a plea or a trial. A defendant who is found guilty after trial has an automatic right to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis, which is the state’s intermediate appellate court. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days at the circuit court clerk’s office, but the actual appellate brief will be filed several months down the road. In order to write an appellate brief the attorney will review transcripts of the entire trial, and then pick out any issues that may have been reversible error. In criminal cases where the defendant pled guilty he or she will not have an automatic right to appeal, but will actually have to ask for permission or leave to appeal from the court. Receiving leave to appeal is very rare, and in most cases will be denied. This should be something to consider when deciding to accept or reject a plea offer.

Once the criminal justice system starts moving against a defendant in Maryland it becomes extremely difficult to undo the process. We are often contacted by victims who are requesting assistance in dropping charges against a defendant, and if you happen to be in this situation there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, victims in a criminal case never have total control over the prosecution of the case.   The State is the plaintiff in all Maryland criminal actions, and it is represented by the State’s Attorney’s Office in the county (or Baltimore City) where the case is prosecuted. The assistant State’s Attorney or the supervisor assigned to the case will have the ultimate decision whether to drop the charges or prosecute. As a general rule prosecutors will not simply drop a charge because the victim has had a change of heart, but this does not mean it’s out of the question. If you are a victim and want to have criminal charges dropped your best bet in many jurisdictions is to reach out to the State’s Attorney’s Office, and inform them in writing of your desire to drop the charges. Keep in mind that you should not make any incriminating statements, whether written or verbal. You should also never admit that you lied or exaggerated with respect to any statements made to the police or written in a statement of charges. Doing so could subject you to criminal prosecution for false statement to a law enforcement officer and in some extreme cases even perjury, so we advise consulting to a lawyer before speaking to the State’s Attorney’s Office about dropping charges.

In some jurisdictions the prosecutors are too busy to prosecute cases with uncooperative victims. Dozens of cases are dropped each day in places such as Baltimore City and Prince George’s County because victims fail to show up for court, but there is no blanket policy for this. A defendant should never expect his or her case to be dropped if the victim fails to show up for court, especially in cases where there the defendant and victim have had prior contacts with the criminal justice system. In cases where the victim does not show up for court, prosecutors have the ability to seek a body attachment for witnesses that have been served with a summons to appear in court. This means the sheriff could actually arrest a victim of a case and hold them in custody until the trial has concluded. This is pretty rare, but is not out of the question in felony assault cases and even second-degree assault cases involving injuries or repeat offenders.

A victim who is summonsed to appear in court must legally comply with the summons regardless of whether they want the case to move forward. But there are still ways to have the case dismissed or nolle prossed upon showing up for court. In cases where the victim and defendant are married, the victim cannot be compelled to testify against his or her spouse. The marital privilege has a few exceptions including that it cannot be invoked in a case involving child abuse and cannot be used more that once in an assault case, but other than that it is usually a foolproof way to have a case dropped. Keep in mind that the State could still choose to move forward without the testimony of the victim, but they would need some sort of other evidence such as independent witness testimony or the recording of a 911 call. In addition to marital privilege, a victim may also be able to invoke the 5^th Amendment. No person can be compelled to testify in a criminal case if their testimony could be incriminating and result in potential charges.   5^th Amendment invocation is common when two people are victims and defendants over the same incident, but it can be used in assault cases where only one person was charged. There are some exceptions to 5^th Amendment invocation, and Benjamin Herbst is a Maryland second-degree and first-degree assault lawyer that offers free consultations about this and all other criminal matters. He is available 7 days a week at 410-207-2598.