PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
September Term, 2022
Granted March 2, 2023
Lateekqua Jackson v. State of Maryland – Case No. 34, September Term, 2022
Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Does a defendant consent expressly to a trial date in violation of the 180-day rule in Md. Rule 4-271 and Md. Code Ann., Criminal Procedure § 6-103 when the trial date is dictated to the defendant by the court and the defendant does not choose the date? 2) Did Petitioner, a represented defendant appearing in court without her assigned counsel, consent expressly to a trial date in violation of the 180-day rule when she acknowledged for the court the date she had to appear for trial and, unbeknownst to her, that date was after the 180-day deadline?
State of Maryland v. Garrick L. Powell, Jr. – Case No. 35, September Term, 2022
Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Can defense counsel’s conduct in relation to the scheduling of the first trial date, short of express consent to exceed the Hicks date or to the particular trial date selected, amount to implicitly seeking a first trial date in violation of the Hicks rule, forestalling dismissal for a violation of that rule? 2) Did Respondent’s counsel implicitly seek a first trial date in violation of the Hicks rule through his conduct in this case?
State of Maryland v. Daniel Ashley McDonnell – Case No. 36, September Term, 2022
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Did Respondent lack any legitimate expectation of privacy in a mirror-image copy of his laptop hard drive that the government created with his consent, and as to which he expressly disclaimed any possessory or privacy interest before the copy was created? 2) Did the ACM err in holding that Respondent’s revocation of consent to examine the contents of his laptop barred investigators from examining the mirror-image copy of his hard drive, when the post-withdrawal examination of the copy was not a search?
Eastland Food Corporation, et al. v. Edward Mekhaya – Case No. 37, September Term, 2022
Issue – Corporations & Associations – May a minority shareholder bring a direct action against a closely-held Md. corporation whose Board of Directors had never declared a dividend on the grounds that a portion of the employment compensation previously paid to him was a “de facto dividend” he expected to continue, even though this Court has never recognized the doctrine of “de facto dividend” and Maryland law provides dividends cannot accrue or be payable unless they are declared by the corporation’s Board of Directors?
Granted March 6, 2023
Jacob Bennett v. Harford County, Maryland – Case No. 38, September Term, 2022
Issues – Local Code – 1) Does a schoolteacher employed by the Harford County Board of Education “hold employment” in the government of the County, the State of Maryland, or a municipality, thus barring them by the Harford County Charter from serving as a Member of the County Council? 2) Is a schoolteacher in a county prevented from serving as a member of the County’s legislative body by the doctrine of incompatible positions?
Granted March 7, 2023
In the Matter of SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC d/b/a SmartEnergy – Case No. 1, September Term, 2023
Issues – Public Utilities – 1) Did the ACM err in finding that the Public Service Commission (“the Commission”) has jurisdiction to interpret and enforce Md. Code, Commercial Law §14-2201(f), the Maryland Telephone Solicitations Act (“MTSA”)? 2) Did the ACM err in finding that a telephone call made by a potential customer to SmartEnergy in response to a previously mailed postcard was a violation of the MTSA? 3) Did the ACM err in holding that the Commission’s findings were supported by substantial evidence and that the penalty imposed was not arbitrary and capricious?
Francois Browne v. State of Maryland – Case No. 2, September Term, 2023
Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Did the ACM err by deciding on its own initiative that Maryland courts should no longer adhere to the exclusionary approach to other-crimes evidence under Md. Rule 5-404(b), when that issue was not decided by the trial judge and was not raised, briefed, or argued by the parties on appeal? 2) If not, should this Court reject the ACM’s exclusionary approach to Md. Rule 5-404(b)? 3) Did ACM err by adopting the “doctrine of chances” and by applying that doctrine to this case? 4) In a trial for the abuse and murder of Petitioner’s girlfriend’s toddler, did the trial court err and abuse its discretion by allowing evidence relating to Petitioner’s previous Alford plea to child abuse resulting in the death of his own baby? 5) Does “due diligence” under Md. Rule 4-331(c) require defense attorneys to audit the contents of the State’s admitted exhibits before allowing the exhibits to go to the jury? 6) Where defense counsel relied on the prosecutor’s representations regarding the contents of the State’s exhibits, did the trial court err or abuse its discretion by denying Petitioner’s motion for a new trial, which was based on a discovery that videos pertaining to the case but not admitted into evidence had been present in the jury room during deliberations?
Denied/Dismissed March 7, 2023
Bannerman, Alexander v. State of Maryland - Pet. Docket No. 344
Belt v. Chambers - Pet. Docket No. 352
Dewayne v. City of Baltimore - Pet. Docket No. 312
Jefferson, Edward v. State - Pet. Docket No. 336
Mead v. O'Sullivan - Pet. Docket No. 346
Muhammad, Kamal v. State - Pet. Docket No. 324
Tyler, Daquan L. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 351
Granted March 24, 2023
In re: M.P. – Case No. 3, September Term, 2022
Issues – Courts & Judicial Proceedings – 1) As an issue of first impression, does the newly enacted Juvenile Justice Reform Act (“JJRA”), Md. Code Ann. § 3-8A-03 of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article, which establishes a minimum age of jurisdiction for the juvenile court, apply to cases pending at the time of the statute’s enactment? 2) As an issue of first impression, is an order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of juvenile court jurisdiction immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine?
Denied/Dismissed March 27, 2023
Ali v. Hart - Pet. Docket No. 356
Anne Arundel Cty. v. National Waste Managers - Pet. Docket No. 372
Asano v. Asante - Pet. Docket No. 347
Bailey, Keenan Adrian v. State - Pet. Docket No. 357
Baltimore & Annapolis RR v. Cinnamon Trail Property - Pet. Docket No. 345
Barnett v. Barnett - Pet. Docket No. 370
Batmanglich v. Beach Real Estate - Pet. Docket No. 319
Blankumsee, Azaniah v. State - Pet. Docket No. 340
Butler v. Parkview Place Apartments - Pet. Docket No. 280
Carter v. MECU of Baltimore - Pet. Docket No. 358
Cash-N-Go v. Consumer Protection Division - Pet. Docket No. 360
Craig v. Costa Management - Pet. Docket No. 339
Curtis, Richard v. State - Pet. Docket No. 341
Davis, Antoine v. State - Pet. Docket No. 320
Giddings, Warren Mathew v. State - Pet. Docket No. 362
Goicochea v. Goicochea - Pet. Docket No. 367
In re: The Estate of Fred F. Mirmiran - Pet. Docket No. 354
In re: K.H. - Pet. Docket No. 364
Johnson v. Johnson - Pet. Docket No. 374
Keen v. Cedar Point Federal Credit Union - Pet. Docket No. 350
Mason, Christopher v. State - Pet. Docket No. 335
Mazariego, Milton A. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 323
Murray v. Becker - Pet. Docket No. 8 *
Namkeb, LLC v. Trustees of the Client Protection Fund - Pet. Docket No. 342
Petition of Karen Mason - Pet. Docket No. 355
Randall, Justin v. State - Pet. Docket No. 365
Rogers, Chaun Jerrod v. State - Pet. Docket No. 311
Viera-Aparicio, Carlos v. State - Pet. Docket No. 368
Watters v. Md. Transit Administration Police - Pet. Docket No. 348
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 282
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 283
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 284
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 285
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 286
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 287
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 288
Wessells v. Frederick Cty. Div. of Planning & Permitting - Pet. Docket No. 289
Williams v. Baltimore Office of Child Support - Pet. Docket No. 337
Womack, Jesus v. State - Pet. Docket No. 334
Young v. Harmon - Pet. Docket No. 281
* September Term, 2023