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Finding out that there is a warrant for your arrest is stressful and frightening, but it’s even worse if you think there is a warrant but you can’t find out for sure. The uncertainty and the waiting can often be a great deal more stressful than just taking care of the warrant and moving on with your life, but unfortunately in Maryland the judicial system is set up to keep many warrants sealed. The two types of arrest warrants in Maryland are bench warrants and arrest warrants. District or circuit court judges commonly issue bench warrants in cases where the defendant fails to appear or has violated a condition of his or her probation or pre-trial release. A judge can also issue a bench warrant for failure to pay fines or court costs, though this is much less common. Bench warrants are pubic and easily accessible by searching online or going to the clerk’s office. Arrest warrants on the other hand are issued by court commissioners or judges upon receiving a charging document from the State’s Attorney’s Office, a police officer or a civilian. Arrest warrants are sealed for 90 days or until served, which means the public will not be able to look them up on the case search website.

If you think you may have an arrest warrant there may be ways for you to confirm it, but this depends where your case is located. Some police departments such as Montgomery County are more than happy to check to see if you have a warrant, and even have warrants departments for this very purpose. It seems in their eyes there is a greater likelihood a person will schedule a turn in if they can know for sure there is a warrant. Other counties like Baltimore County have a strict policy where they will only give out warrant information to the defendant in person by showing up at a precinct. Baltimore County and many other police departments around Maryland do not give out warrant information over the phone, even to a lawyer. This obviously makes it more difficult to plan for a surrender prior to a warrant squad coming to get you at an inconvenient time. There is really no sound logic to keeping all warrants sealed, as most people who think they have a warrant will behave as if they do have one, and not just sit back and wait to be arrested. The exception is the issuance of a warrant pursuant to a sealed indictment in a complex criminal investigation where the risk of flight is high, but these cases are not the norm (especially in the state court system).

If you are able to find out that there is an arrest warrant the two most sensible options are to attempt to file a motion to convert the warrant into a summons or to surrender on your own terms.   A criminal defense lawyer can file a motion to convert an arrest warrant into a summons as long as he or she can locate the case number. Some district court judges will deny these motions as a matter of course and cite the District Court Administrative Regulations, but these regulations do not clearly prohibit a judge from converting a warrant into a summons, so it’s always worth a shot. If the motion is denied the next best option is to schedule a surrender at a police precinct or a commissioner’s office that is next to a jail or police station. Defendants who are served with an arrest warrant will have to be booked before seeing the commissioner, so the process may take several hours. In arrest warrant cases where there is a pre-set bail the defendant will not see the commissioner and can post bail as soon as the booking process is completed. Defendants can also wait until the next day to see the judge to request a reduced or unsecured bail, or release on recognizance.

While legalizing marijuana has been discussed in previous legislative sessions, a legitimate proposal has yet to gain steam in Annapolis. Recreational marijuana will be legalized in Maryland within the next few years one way or another, but the state will move at its own pace. Based off the medical program that pace can be described as deliberate, or just plain slow. In order for legalization to actually have a legitimate shot of becoming law in 2020 the momentum has to start building soon, and it appears the ball has already started rolling. This past week a group of Maryland lawmakers conducted their first meetings as members of the marijuana legalization task force, which is a major sign that legalization has a legitimate shot of passing next year. This is not the first time a task force has been convened to address state marijuana policy, but this year it seems the sole focus is on legalization.

The bi-partisan task force is made up of state senators and delegates, and is expected to make formal recommendations by the end of the calendar year, which will be used to shape legislation when the 2020 session opens in January. Members will divide up into subcommittees that will focus on a variety of issues such as the impact on the criminal justice system, potential tax rates, licensing requirements and the impact on public health. Lawmakers will also seek the advice of outside experts with respect to issues such as the conflict between state legalization and federal laws that still consider marijuana to be a controlled substance.

This being a criminal law Blog, we’ll take a minute to comment on the criminal justice impacts that legalization could produce. The most obvious impact would be that criminal cases for possession of marijuana would likely cease to exist, with the exception being possession by minors and adults under the age of 21. Lawmakers would have to address whether possession by an underage person would be a civil infraction like with alcohol, or a criminal infraction. New regulations on the on the amount of pot a person could possess and where they could possess it would be imposed, but violation of these rules would likely be a civil infraction. Legalization would drastically reduce possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute cases, as the customer base would shrink to those who are unable to purchase at a dispensary, namely those under 21. Finally, charges for manufacturing marijuana (growing at home) would also be drastically reduced, as legalization would likely allow a limited number of plants to be cultivated within the confines of a lawful private residence.

Under Maryland law all defendants who are charged with an offense that carries more than 90 days in jail are entitled to a jury trial, but requesting a jury trial and actually going through with one are two entirely different things. Requesting or praying a jury trial occurs when a defendant decides to transfer his or her case from the district court to the circuit court. Almost all criminal cases start out in the district court, but jurors are never summoned to appear in district court and they don’t conduct jury trials. Felony charges (except theft and other exceptions like animal cruelty) must eventually be handled in the circuit court due to jurisdiction rules, but there are countless misdemeanor charges that are handled in district court and provide a jury trial right. Common offenses in this category include second-degree assault, theft (all types over $100), DUI, malicious destruction of property and drug possession. Defendants facing trial in district court for these offenses have the option to stay put or move to the circuit court, and there are conflicting opinions about what the right decision may be.

Circuit court is the higher court and the most serious crimes are handled there, but this should not be a deterrent to defendants who are thinking about requesting a jury trial. Keep in mind that circuit court judges are used to hearing felony cases such as murder, robbery and drug distribution all day, so your misdemeanor case usually won’t seem like the crime of the century in their eyes. Additionally, circuit court prosecutors are more experienced and have a better grasp on the cases where they should ask for a harsh sentence, and the ones where they should take a step back. Generally speaking, if you have a misdemeanor charge or a felony theft charge the judges and prosecutors tend to be more reasonable in circuit court, so it may be beneficial to request a jury trial. In some jurisdictions like Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City and Queen Anne’s County it’s usually a good idea to request a jury trial, and in others it depends on the judge.

Once again, requesting a jury trial and actually going through with a jury trial are two different things. Once the case is in circuit court you will eventually have to decide whether to accept a STET, plead guilty or go to trial with a judge or a jury. As a general rule if the state offers to STET your case (postpone the case indefinitely without a finding of guilt) you should accept. You could always decide to bring the case back and fight it within a year, but usually it’s not worth the gamble if you can guarantee the case will be closed without admitting any type of guilt. Deciding whether to accept a plea is always up to the defendant, but everyone in this position should have a lawyer to consult with before making this important decision. Finally, the last decision if the case can’t be worked out is to decide between a court trial and a jury trial. At a court trial the judge will determine guilt or innocence after hearing the evidence, which basically means the entire trial is in the hands of one person. At a jury trial in Maryland, the state must convince all 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt in order for them to come back with a guilty verdict. A good criminal defense lawyer will stress to the jury just how difficult it is to reach the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If the jury is unsure they must acquit, which is something that must be hammered home at all stages of the trial.

While it is not stated in any official statute or case law the primary purposes of the adult criminal system are punishment and deterrence of future crime. The term “corrections” is more of a euphemism than the actual truth, and a more accurate term for the agency that oversees the prisons would be the Department of Punishment. But regardless of what the state decides to call it, the bottom line is that prison and probation does not exist for the benefit of those convicted of crimes in the adult criminal justice system. Thankfully the same harsh reality does not apply to the juvenile criminal justice system. While it’s far from perfect, the juvenile criminal justice system was designed from top to bottom with the best interests of minor defendants in mind. The primary goals of juvenile system are treatment, care and rehabilitation of the defendants. This does not mean that judges and magistrates will shy away from imposing punitive conditions on a child in order to protect the public or deter future unlawful behavior, but the main goal is to help the defendants. For this reason it is extremely important for minor defendants and those that have recently turned 18 to do whatever it takes under state law to keep their cases in juvenile court, or transfer them away from adult court. Before the issue of transfer comes up it is important to understand the Maryland laws governing when a child can be charged as an adult in the first place.

All children ages 7 to 17 at the time of the offense in question are considered juveniles, but this does not mean that everyone within this age group will be charged as such. Under Maryland law there are certain statutory provisions that serve to exclude the juvenile court from original jurisdiction over a criminal case (original jurisdiction simply means where the case starts). Any child that is 14 or older and charged with a crime punishable by life in prison will be excluded from having their case heard in juvenile court. These cases (typically murder) will start out in the District Court, and then eventually make their way into the Circuit Court if the State decides to continue prosecution. The next set of exceptions applies to defendants that were 16 or older at the time of the alleged offense, if the offense falls under the statutory exclusion list. Maryland rule 3-804 lists several offenses that disqualify 16 and 17 year old defendants from being charged as juveniles. These defendants will be arrested and charged as adults, and their cases will be listed in the public casesearch database. State law requires that these defendants be housed in a separate facility from adult offenders, but if the child turns 18 while detained he or she will be sent to an adult jail unless a motion to transfer physical custody is filed by a lawyer or filed pro se.

There are numerous offenses that will disqualify a defendant from being charged as a juvenile, and all are either felonies or crimes involving firearms. Common disqualifying offenses are first-degree assault, armed robbery, carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Second-degree murder, attempted murder and manslaughter are also excluding offenses. Any juvenile that is charged as an adult for one of these crimes will have the opportunity to argue that their case should be transferred to juvenile court. This process is called a reverse waiver transfer, and the motion must be filed within 30 days or it could be waived. Any defendant that is 16 or older and charged with first-degree murder is excluded from transfer, as well as any defendant who was previously transferred and adjudicated delinquent.

Maryland offers an extremely just and reasonable expungement process for defendants who have been charged in criminal, serious traffic and civil citation cases. And, while the application process is fairly simple and now free, the hardest part can be figuring out if the case is eligible for expungement in the first place.   There are some simple rules that we’ll start with, but keep in mind that even the simple rules have exceptions. Remember the one exception that trumps all the other exceptions is that a judge may grant a petition for expungement at anytime upon a showing of good cause, so hope is never lost if your case doesn’t qualify.

The most common scenarios when a defendant may be eligible for expungement are when their case results in a probation before judgment, nolle pross. dismissal, STET, acquittal or not guilty verdict. Criminal cases based on violations that are not longer illegal (possession of marijuana under 10 grams) are also eligible regardless of the outcome. The timing for when the case is eligible varies greatly. Dismissals, not guilty verdicts, nolle pross., acquittals and law change cases are immediately eligible for expungement unless the defendant is currently a defendant in another criminal proceeding. This is obviously a major exception, and there is really no logical reason for this exception other than to take a shot against those who are supposed to be presumed innocent. Former defendants with no current matters whose cases got dropped can file for expungement right away at the court where the case ended. A minor exception is defendants that receive a conditional nolle pross. (common in Montgomery County) must satisfy the conditions first.

Cases that end in a probation before judgment are eligible for expungement 3 years after any sentence or period of probation ends. The three years clock rarely starts from the last court appearance, so a little record searching may be in order in cases where a defendant serves a split sentence. A major exception is that DUI and DWI cases are not eligible to be expunged in Maryland when the defendant receives PBJ. This was not always the case, but the DUI lobby is strong and the laws continue to become stricter. Another major exception is that a defendant can lose the ability to expunge a PBJ if he or she is convicted of a crime within three years after receiving that PBJ. A new conviction can’t reopen a closed PBJ case but it can definitely make it permanent.  Cases that end in a STET are eligible for expungement three years from when the STET began. If there are conditions such as drug and alcohol treatment they must be satisfied before an expungement can be granted.

A former letter carrier for the United States Postal Service was recently sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned from the West Coast to Bethesda, Maryland. The 49-year old postman received a sentence of 4 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised probation for the crimes of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. In total the feds linked the former USPS employee to 5 kilograms of cocaine, which according to law enforcement has a total street value of approximately $187,600.

According to the guilty plea that the court accepted a few months prior the ex-postal worker conspired with business associates on the West Coast to send multiple packages containing cocaine from California and Nevada to Maryland. The packages were shipped via U.S. mail and destined for addresses on the defendant’s Montgomery County mailing route. This investigation began back in September of 2016 though federal law enforcement seems to believe it had gone on longer. In April of 2017 a postal inspection service drug detection dog made a positive hit on five packages that were yet to be delivered, and the inspectors sought and received a search warrant. Upon opening the packages the inspectors discovered that all five contained one kilogram of cocaine packaged in the same manner. The addresses were valid Bethesda locations, but the names associated with the addresses were fake.

While the U.S. Attorney’s press release does not detail what occurred after cocaine was discovered, the packages were probably sealed back up and placed in circulation for the defendant to deliver. Only this time odds were the former postal worker had unwanted company following him along his route. Montgomery County police assisted the feds in this investigation, and they could have been involved in either a pretextual traffic stop of the defendant or a probable cause arrest. Law enforcement likely waited until the defendant took some sort of action indicating he had knowledge of the contents of each package before making an arrest. During his plea hearing the former mailman admitted that he took possession of the packages in the Bethesda post office and then notified his co-conspirators by text that he had marked the packages as delivered. After scanning the packages in he delivered them to the co-conspirators at different locations than the addresses written on the packages.