Adnan Syed entitled to new trial, Court of Special Appeals affirms. What’s next?
By Steve Klepper (Twitter: @MDAppeal)[*]
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has issued its decision in Adnan Syed v. State of Maryland. The opinion, affirming that Syed is entitled to a new trial, is available here.
So what’s next? Read More…
Judicial Impartiality Can Be Difficult to Maintain
Many litigators have experienced those situations where a judge becomes interested in the case and asks a witness a follow-up question. It goes with the territory, right? So what about when a judge reopens your case instead of outright dismissing it? The Court of Special Appeals has an answer—the judge needs to be cautious when doing so or risk crossing the line of impartiality. See Payton v. State, CSA No. 2115, Sept. Term, 2016 (February 1, 2018).
March 2018 Maryland Certiorari Grants
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals granted six writs of certiorari – all for the September 2018 Term – including Frederick and Carroll Counties’ separate challenges to state regulation of stormwater runoff collection, the impact of technical difficulties in a correctional officer’s termination hearing, and whether a medical prescription is inadmissible hearsay when offered as a defense to the possession of controlled dangerous substances offense. Read More…
It’s OK; the trial judge knew what defense counsel meant – Watts v. State
A Maryland appellate court will ordinarily entertain a challenge concerning a jury instruction only if counsel objected promptly after the trial judge instructed the jury, clearly stating the grounds for the objection. Requiring counsel to make a prompt and clear objection gives the trial judge an opportunity to consider the objection and make any changes he or she deems necessary. But what happens when trial counsel makes an imprecise objection, which is followed by a quick discussion that indicates that the trial judge understands the objection and the point trial counsel is trying to make? That was the situation facing the Court of Appeals in Watts v. State, No. 17, Sept. Term 2017 (February 20, 2018). Read More…
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