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Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Maryland held that when there is “some evidence” in the record to support a requested jury instruction on an evidentiary inference, the trial court is required to exercise its discretion to determine whether to give the instruction, and if the trial court refuses ...
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More from this issue:
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- FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal, by Michael Thompson
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- California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, by Douglas Ankney
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- NEWS IN BRIEF
More from Douglas Ankney:
- $1.2 Million in Settlements Reached in Suit Over Sacramento Jail Murder, May 1, 2025
- Eleventh Circuit Revives Volunteer Pastor’s First Amendment Claim at Georgia Jail, May 1, 2025
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violation in Suit Over Kentucky Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2025
- Second Circuit Revives Connecticut Prisoner’s Challenge To Conditions In Virginia Lockup Where He Was Transferred, May 1, 2025
- Missouri Pays More Than $1.2 Million for Deputy Warden’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Warden, May 1, 2025
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, April 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Erred in Imposing ‘Managerial Role’ Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3B1.1(b) Without Making ‘Particularized Findings’ Regarding Scope of Criminal Activity and Number of Participants as Required by Guidelines §1B1.1, April 15, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Stretches PLRA to Deny Claim of Colorado Prisoner Shot by Guard While Shackled, April 1, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Excuses Maryland Prisoner From Exhaustion Requirement in PREA Claim, April 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- A Song for Condemned Alabama Prisoner, April 1, 2025. Witnesses, Telephone Monitoring, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
- Sixth Circuit Announces Ohio’s Standard for Judicial Bias Contrary to Clearly Established Federal Law, Holds Trial Judge Unconstitutionally Biased in Capital Case and Defendant Denied Right to Present Mitigating Evidence, Grants Habeas Relief, Dec. 15, 2024. Murder/Felony Murder, Bias/Discrimination, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Self-Defense Jury Instruction Does Not Require Intent to Harm or Kill Assailant, Oct. 1, 2024. Defenses, Jury Instructions, Motive/Opportunity/Intent/Identity Evidence.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Finds Prosecution Withheld Favorable Impeachment and Exculpatory Evidence in Violation of Brady, Aug. 1, 2024. Exculpatory No Doctrine, Resentencing, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Remands/Rehearings/Resentencings.
- Prosecutors Receive Absurdly Lenient Sentence of Probation for Brady Violation That Resulted in an Innocent Man Spending More Than Four Years in Prison, July 15, 2024. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorney Discipline, Brady Rule violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- HRDC Files Civil Rights Action on Behalf of Wrongly Convicted Florida Man Who Spent 45 Years in Prison, June 15, 2024. Wrongful Conviction, False Arrest, False Imprisonment, Hypnotically Refreshed Memory, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Where Instructions Failed to Inform Jury That Mens Rea of ‘Knowingly or Intentionally’ Applies to ‘Except as Authorized’ in 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), June 15, 2024. Jury Instructions, Essential Elements of Crime, Mens Rea Element, Elements of Offense, Failure to Instruct on Scienter Requirement.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Springs Prisoner From Death Row, April 1, 2024. Capital Punishment, Exculpatory Materials, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Failure to Disclosure Mental Health Report Showing Key Witness Was a Sociopath Constitutes Brady Violation That Prejudiced Defendant, March 15, 2024. Brady Violations, Brady Rule violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.