October 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grants

On October 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted certiorari in three criminal cases. The certiorari grants, with links to the Appellate Court of Maryland opinions under review, are below.

Valerie Rovin v. State of Maryland – Case No. 19, September Term, 2023 (Unreported Opinion by Judge Albright)

Issues – Constitutional Law – 1) Did ACM err in concluding that the “objectively reasonable” mistake of law test articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. 54 (2014), applies to civil constitutional tort claims arising under the Maryland Constitution, including Article 26 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights? 2) Did ACM err in concluding that the “objectively reasonable” mistake of law test articulated in Heien applies to claims arising under Maryland’s common law, such as for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution? 3) Did ACM err in determining that the officers in Petitioner’s case made an objectively reasonable mistake-of-law in arresting, imprisoning, and prosecuting her and that, as a result, Petitioner’s claims failed as a matter of law? 4) Did ACM err in determining that the juror intimidation statute in Md. Code Criminal Law Article § 9-305(a) was not unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the due process protections guaranteed by Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights? 5) Did ACM err in determining that Petitioner’s free speech rights under Article 40 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights were not violated? 6) Was the warrant issued for Petitioner’s arrest invalid based on the contents of the warrant affidavit, which show no crime was committed?

Roseberline Turenne v. State of Maryland – Case No. 20, September Term, 2023 (Reported Opinion by Chief Judge Wells)

Issue – Criminal Law – Is the evidence insufficient to sustain the child pornography convictions under Md. Code Criminal Law Article (“CL”) §§ 11-207(a)(1) and -208(b) and child sex abuse convictions under CL § 3-602(b)? (A) What is the appropriate test to determine whether an image constitutes “lascivious exhibition of the genitals” under the child pornography statutes? (B) What role, if any, does evidence of possession of adult pornography play in assessing the sufficiency of the evidence?

Troy Mason v. State of Maryland – Case No. 21, September Term, 2023 (Reported Opinion by Judge Moylan)

Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Did ACM err in ruling that a mistrial was not required simply by virtue of the inadvertent nature of the discovery error? 2) Is “error correction” a legitimate reason to allow previously undisclosed evidence into trial, thereby excusing a discovery violation, where the new evidence contradicts information disclosed during discovery and previously relied on by the defense at trial? 3) Did the courts below abuse their discretion by finding no prejudice warranting a mistrial or curative instruction, where during discovery the State produced a blank Strangulation Supplement documenting no injuries to the complaining witness that was relied on by defense counsel at trial, and where surprise testimony revealed that the disclosed Supplement was erroneous and that the original Strangulation Supplement – which was not produced during discovery – did document injuries?