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Maryland Governor Pardons Thousands of Low-Level Marijuana Convictions, Seeking to Right Historical Wrongs

Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024

Filed under: Pardons/Clemency, Marijuana Laws/Issues, Use of Marijuana

Maryland Governor Pardons Thousands of Low-Level Marijuana Convictions, Seeking to Right Historical Wrongs by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On June 17, 2024, Democratic Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order in Annapolis to issue more than 175,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions, seeking to rectify “historical wrongs” …

Fourth Circuit: Maryland’s First-Degree Assault Statute Is Indivisible so Conviction Is Not an ACCA Predicate for Sentencing Enhancement Purposes

Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Career Offenders, Recidivist Enhancements

Fourth Circuit: Maryland’s First-Degree Assault Statute Is Indivisible so Conviction Is Not an ACCA Predicate for Sentencing Enhancement Purposes by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that Maryland’s first-degree assault statute, Md. Code, Art. 27 § 12A -1, is indivisible, and a …

Facial Recognition’s Distorted View

Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024

Filed under: False Arrest, Police State-Surveillance

Facial Recognition’s Distorted View by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson There is a tendency within the human brain to settle on the first solution even when another, better solution is available. Automated facial recognition (“AFR”) systems can exacerbate the problem simply by the fact that they are designed to …

Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct, Plea Bargaining, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s …

Lung Float Test: Junk Science Used to Convict Women of Murder

Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024

Filed under: junk science, Wrongful Conviction

Lung Float Test: Junk Science Used to Convict Women of Murder by David Reutter by David M. Reutter When a woman has a child while alone that does not survive, authorities may wonder if the child was stillborn or murdered by the mother. Many medical examiners attempt to answer that …

Appleby-El v. Wexford Health Sources, MD, Settlement, Failure to Provide Medical Care, 2024

Brief • March 7, 2024

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Appleby-El v. Wexford Health Sources, MD, Settlement, Failure to Provide Medical Care, 2024 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement is made this 27th day of March, by and between Nathaniel Appleby-El (“Plaintiff”), on the one hand, and Dayena Corcoran and Frank B. Bishop, Jr. (hereinafter “Defendants”), on the other …

Maryland Supreme Court Announces Expectation of Privacy Covers Electronic Data, Not Physical Devices, Thus War-rantless Search of Government’s Copy of Defendant’s Hard Drive After Consent Revoked Viol...

Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024

Filed under: Consent, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Digital Devices, Privacy Act/Rights

Maryland Supreme Court Announces Expectation of Privacy Covers Electronic Data, Not Physical Devices, Thus War-rantless Search of Government’s Copy of Defendant’s Hard Drive After Consent Revoked Violated Fourth Amendment by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Maryland (formerly the Court of Appeals) held that a defendant had …

Gilliam v. Dept of Public Safety and Correctional Services, MD, Order Granting and Denying Part Prelim Injunction, Transgender, 2023

Brief • December 4, 2023

Filed under: Transgender, Discrimination (Transgender)

Gilliam v. Dept of Public Safety and Correctional Services, MD, Order Granting and Denying Part Prelim Injunction, Transgender, 2023 Case 1:23-cv-01047-MJM Document 75 Filed 12/04/23 Page 1 of 2 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND CHELSEA GILLIAM, et al., * Plaintiffs * v. Civil Action …

Duvall v. Moore, MD, Declaration of Oscar H. Jerkins, Conditions of Confinement, 2023

Brief • November 8, 2023

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement

Duvall v. Moore, MD, Declaration of Oscar H. Jerkins, Conditions of Confinement, 2023 Case 1:94-cv-02541-ELH Document 821-1 Filed 11/08/23 Page 1 of 17 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND JEROME DUVALL, et al. * * Plaintiffs, v. * WES MOORE, et al. * * Defendants. …

Pronin v. Armstead, MD, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2023

Brief • October 2, 2023

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Staff Assault

Pronin v. Armstead, MD, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2023 Case 1:22-cv-01864-BAH Document 48 Filed 10/02/23 Page 1 of 17 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND DMITRY PRONIN, A/KlA Leyleen Lillith Aquino, Plaintiff, CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:22-CV-01864 V. LAURA ARMSTEAD , ORLANDO JOHNSON, CHERYL GOLDMAN, KAMERON …

Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun

Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023

Filed under: Expert Witnesses, junk science, Gun Laws/Crimes

Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Maryland (formerly known as the Court of Appeals of Maryland) held that the methodology …

Smith v. Office of Atty General, MD, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023

Brief • September 20, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Smith v. Office of Atty General, MD, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS REVISED at the meeting SECRETARY'S ACTION AGENDA September 20, 2023 Contact: Janee Fountain 410-576-6971 jfountain@oag.state.md.us 12. THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS Appellate Court ofMaryland Compensation to Erroneously Confined Individual Mr. Demetrius Smith Recommendation: The Office …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Reported by KHSL in Chico/Redding, Nicholas Lee Rush, 49, a Chico Police Officer, has been charged with providing marijuana to an underage family member, 17, and also encouraging the teen to share the stash with his girlfriend. In 2022, an investigation into whether Rush was …

Report Finds Older Prisoners in Maryland Are Less Likely to Be Paroled

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Age, Conditions of

Report Finds Older Prisoners in Maryland Are Less Likely to Be Paroled by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi Upon reading the Justice Policy Institute report entitled “Safe at Home: Improving Maryland’s Parole Release Decision Making,” the first look at Maryland’s parole system in excess of 80 years, one disturbing trend …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: The District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced that a police officer in San Fernando was charged with theft. CBS News reported that the officer, Jeffrey King, 37, was handed charges on June 6, 2023, of misdemeanor petty theft, felony extortion, and felony …

Fourth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Per se ineffectiveness

Fourth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held a federal defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel by failing to object to his designation as a …

Maryland Cops Stop People Based on Smell of Pot Despite Being Legal in State, Lawmakers Pass Bill to End Abusive Practice

Article • May 25, 2023

Filed under: War on Drugs, Marijuana Laws/Issues, Profiling Evidence

Maryland Cops Stop People Based on Smell of Pot Despite Being Legal in State, Lawmakers Pass Bill to End Abusive Practice by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson Maryland lawmakers have passed a bill that will restrict police officers’ ability to search people based on the smell of marijuana. The bill, …

After Spending Over 30 Years in Prison for a Murder Maryland Man Didn’t Commit, Judge Grants Petition for Writ of Actual Innocence

Article • May 20, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence

After Spending Over 30 Years in Prison for a Murder Maryland Man Didn’t Commit, Judge Grants Petition for Writ of Actual Innocence by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Peters granted a petition for a writ of actual innocence, overturning the conviction of Anthony Hall, …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: The DOJ announced on Jan. 24, 2023, that two former police officers in Crawford County were charged with excessive use of force after beating a man at a gas station. The New York Times reported that the two former officers, Zackary King and Levi White, …

Maryland Sheriff Charged in Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Machine Guns

Article • April 28, 2023

Filed under: Police/Govt Misconduct, Gun Laws/Crimes, Machine Guns

Maryland Sheriff Charged in Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Machine Guns by Kaden Gicker by Kaden Gicker Frederick County Sheriff Charles “Chuck” Austin Jenkins, 66, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud against the government, false statements during the purchase of firearms, false statements in records maintained by a federal licensee, …