Judge Stephen Kehoe Appointed to ACM
Governor Wes Moore’s first appellate appointment is Judge Stephen Kehoe, for the Eastern Shore seat on the Appellate Court of Maryland. Judge Kehoe replaces his older brother, Judge Christopher Kehoe, who has been a Senior Judge on the Court since August.
Because Governor Moore made this appointment during the General Assembly session, it will not take effect until confirmation by the Senate.
Below is the Governor’s February 8 press release:
Read More…When a Woman’s Questions About Her Right to Choose Is Proof of Intent to Kill at Birth
In Akers v. State (September Term 2022, No. 0925) (unreported), Moira Akers searched the Internet for information about aborting her pregnancy. Akers’ pregnancy was in the first trimester, and she was within her rights to investigate her options to end it. She chose to continue the pregnancy. Still, her cell phone kept a digital record of her search history. Following the death of her newborn—which she maintained was stillborn during a home birth—the police seized her phone and reviewed her search history. At her trial for the first-degree murder of her infant, the prosecutor offered Akers’ search history as proof of her intent to kill the newborn infant. Akers objected, arguing that her questions about her right to lawfully terminate the pregnancy did not generate an inference of an intent to kill a newborn child at birth. In a case of first impression, the Appellate Court of Maryland (ACM) held that Akers’ Internet searches for abortion information made it more likely that she intended to kill her newborn child. The ACM cautioned that its holding “should be read narrowly, and in strict accordance with the specific facts of this case.” Still, the ACM’s decision implicates important questions about a woman’s reproductive rights in the context of a criminal case after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Read More…January 2024 Maryland Certiorari Grants
The Supreme Court of Maryland today granted certiorari in one criminal case and one civil case.
Read More…Three Nominated for Eastern Shore ACM Vacancy
On January 12, 2024, the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission nominated two county administrative judges and a magistrate judge for the vacancy on the Appellate Court that will arise from the retirement of Judge Christopher B. Kehoe. This seat is for the First Appellate Judicial Circuit, which includes Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester Counties. The nominees are:
Read More…Questions Remain About Self-Defense Jury Questions
There are very few dissents in the Appellate Court of Maryland: By my slapdash and amateurish count — which will have some built-in double-counting and so isn’t precisely accurate — out of 899 opinions of the court in 2023, there were only 7 dissents, meaning the panels disagree roughly 0.8 percent of the time. When one issue resurfaces in dissents twice within the same year, it’s worth taking note.
Byrd v. State, No. 1787, Sept. Term 2021 (App. Ct. Md. Jan. 23, 2023), last January contained some conflicting ink in regards to the “some evidence” standard to get a jury instruction relating to “imperfect self-defense,” an issue that was also in play recently in Hollins v. State, No. 2023, Sept. Term 2022 (App. Ct. Md. Dec. 14, 2023), albeit in regards to the alleged violent propensity of a witness. The case stems from a parking-lot fight between McDonald’s coworkers Isiah Hollins and Alexander Alvarenga that resulted in Mr. Hollins stabbing Mr. Alvarenga in the head six or seven times.
Read More…December 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grant
On December 18th, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in one civil appeal and also added an election law direct appeal to its February argument calendar. The certiorari grant and information related to the election appeal is below.
Read More…Case Update: Muldrow v. State.
On December 6, 2023, the Appellate Court of Maryland held that a trial court: 1) must voir dire the jury regarding bias against sexual orientation where it is likely to be an issue in the case; and 2) that a trial court must consider whether expert testimony is admissible under Daubert even where the testimony involves a “widely accepted” methodology. See Albert M. Muldrow, Jr. v. Maryland, _____ Md. App. ____, No. 1898, Sept. Term, 2021 (filed Dec. 6, 2023) (Getty, J.).
Read More…November 2023 Maryland Certiorari Grants (part 2)
On November 29th, the Supreme Court of Maryland granted review in two additional cases, one criminal appeal and one civil appeal on bypass from the circuit court.
The two certiorari grants, with a link to the Appellate Court decision under review, are below.
Read More…Denial of a Detail and Implied Fabrication under § CJP 10-923: A Matter of First Impression
In Green v. State (No. 0854, September Term 2022), the Appellate Court of Maryland (ACM) decided, as a matter of first impression, whether the defendant’s denial of just one of the elements of the offense amounts to an implied allegation of fabrication necessary for the admission of a prior sexually assaultive act under Cts. & Jud. Procs. (CJP) § 10-923. The ACM also applied the Maryland Supreme Court’s recent decision in Woodlin v. State, 484 Md. 253 (2023), to decide whether the probative value of Green’s prior sexually assaultive behavior was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.
Read More…Maryland Certiorari Statistics, 2021 and 2022 Terms
For several years, I’ve tracked the Supreme Court of Maryland’s petition docket. The judiciary’s annual statistical reports give the overall grant rate for civil and criminal certiorari petitions. Because unrepresented (pro se) parties file the majority of petitions each year, however, the overall statistics are not terribly helpful for lawyers in advising their clients regarding the odds of certiorari.
Below are the statistics for the Court’s 2021 Term (petitions docketed 3/1/2021 to 2/28/2022) and 2022 Term (3/1/2022 to 2/28/2023),[*] alongside the statistics for the 2020 Term (petitions filed 3/1/2020 to 2/28/2021) for comparison.
Read More…
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