UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LARRY MILAN RECIO
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Motz, March 7, 2018,
Evidence – Hearsay – A defendant who posted a song lyric on Facebook may be considered to have “adopted” it where the lyric has independent meaning and stands alone without commentary.
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KEVIN SEWELL v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Raker, March 5, 2018,
Evidence – Despite using a third-party service to send them, text messages between spouses are still protected by marital privilege
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MARTEZ JOHNSON v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Nazarian, March 2, 2018,
Sentencing – A defendant held on an appeal bond can receive credit for time in home detention if failure to comply with his conditions of detention could would have been the crime of escape
ARMANDE SHELTEN ALFORD v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, J Eyler, March 2, 2018,
Expert Witness – Frye-Reed – A trial judge may decide on her own to exclude expert testimony on the basis of Frye-Reed without a challenge by the opposing party
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BRIAN BOWMAN
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Traxler, March 1, 2018,
Seizure – Telling a driver to “just hang tight right there, okay?” created a seizure when the circumstances suggested that a reasonable driver would not feel like he had a choice
MALIK SMALL v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Leahy, March 1, 2018,
Photo Array – Suggestiveness – An identification was improperly suggestive when the victim was shown two two photo arrays hours apart where the suspect was the only one to appear in both arrays and the first array was improperly suggestive
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JARNARO C. MIDDLETON
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Gregory, February 26, 2018,
ACCA – A South Carolina conviction for “involuntary manslaughter” does not qualify as a crime of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act
RODNEY CLASS v. UNITED STATES
Supreme Court of the United States, Breyer, February 21, 2018,
Appeal- Guilty Plea – A defendant who pleads guilty does not automatically give up the right to challenge a law as unconstitutional
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DAMIAN PHILLIPS and CURRENCY, $200,000.00 IN U.S.
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Motz, February 21, 2018
Civil Forfeiture – An individual seeking to intervene in the government’s seizure of money must show “some evidence of ownership” beyond merely his word.
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STATE OF MARYLAND v. ROBERT CLIFFORD WEDDINGTON
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Greene, February 21, 2018,
Discharge of Counsel – A post-trial hearing to determine grounds for discharge of counsel can not cure a failure to hold a pre-trial hearing
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