COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS Criminal Procedure, Criteria for continuance: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s continuance to obtain exculpatory evidence, because defendant did not meet his burden to show that he satisfied the criteria set forth in Jackson v. State, 214 Md. 454, 459 (1957). Davis v. State, No. 953, [...]
Recent Maryland Decisions 9/14
Administrative Law, Private cause of action: TP §21-809, which authorizes the use of speed monitoring systems on certain roads, does not provide an express or implied private cause of action in tort.Baker v. Montgomery County, No. 124, September Term, 2011. RecordFax No. 12-0821-22, 28 pages. Civil Procedure, Court rules: In wife’s appeal of child custody [...]
Recent Maryland Decisions – 8/31
Constitutional Law, Freedom of speech: Statutory ban on falsely assuming or pretending to be a law enforcement officer was not unconstitutionally overbroad and did not violate defendant’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech because defendant failed to show realistic danger that the statute would significantly compromise anyone’s First Amendment rights, and statute served state’s [...]
Evidence Destroyed?… Not So Fast
What happens if someone destroys evidence in your case? According to Maryland Rules of Evidence, if someone who has access to relevant evidence in your case destroys or fails to produce the evidence, then you may argue to the jury that they may infer that the evidence would have been unfavorable to the party who [...]
Recent Maryland Decisions – 8/27
Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction over foreign corporation: Foreign corporations possessed sufficient contacts with the state to support the court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over them, because the corporations purposefully availed themselves of privilege of conducting activities in forum state, plaintiff’s claims arose out of those activities, and the exercise of personal jurisdiction was constitutionally reasonable. Tire [...]
Dollars and Dimes of Divorce
Investing in Your Divorce Action Divorce is not a small matter because it typically affects issues of child support, alimony, and division of marital property. Since it can be a time consuming and expensive matter, you should spend lots of time to protect what you hope to gain from the divorce, whether it is alimony, [...]
Recent Maryland Decisions – 8/17
MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS Criminal Procedure, Post-conviction relief: Defendant was not entitled to post-conviction relief to re-litigate the allegation that the trial court erred by excluding expert testimony, because that issue had already been finally litigated and cases decided after his trial did not establish any previously unrecognized constitutional standard. Greco v. State, No. 86, [...]
What is Maryland Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ Compensation is an insurance program established by the State that requires employers with one or more employees to provide accidental injury coverage to their employees. Workers’ compensation covers an employee’s medical expenses, hospital bills and a partial income replacement, when the employee has an accidental injury that arose out of the course of employment. [...]
