Petitions for Writ of Certiorari - September 2019

PETITIONS FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

September Term, 2019

 

Granted September 9, 2019

Larry Daniel Bratt v. State of Maryland - Case No. 39, September Term, 2019

Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Does the failure of a sentencing judge to award a defendant mandatory credit against the sentence for time served in custody prior to trial render the sentence illegal and subject to correction under Maryland Rule 4-345(a)? 2) What is the proper remedy to correct the illegality when a sentence does not reflect the proper credit? 3) Is the claim that a sentencing court failed to comply with Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. § 6-218(e) properly raised in a Rule 4-345(a) motion when the court’s alleged failure to do so is a procedural flaw, i.e., not the result of a determination by the court that the defendant is not entitled to any or only partial credit for time that the defendant spent in pre-sentencing detention? 4) Where the defendant alleges that the sentencing court failed to comply with Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. § 6-218, and there is no dispute that the defendant is entitled to the credit that he or she requests, must the defendant seek correction of the procedural flaw by filing a Rule 4-351 motion or may the defendant seek the same relief by filing a Rule 4-345(a) motion?

David R. Faulkner v. State of Maryland - Case No. 42, September Term, 2019

Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) Did the lower courts err in evaluating the cumulative impact of multiple discrete but complementary items of newly discovered innocence evidence? 2) Did the lower courts err in evaluating the impact of newly discovered third-party guilt evidence? 3) Did the lowers courts err by holding that evidence was not “newly discovered” for purposes of Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure, §8-301, because defense counsel failed to investigate an incomplete summary of a witness statement, where the State suppressed a videotaped statement by that witness with material additional information?

Rasherd Lewis v. State of Maryland - Case No. 44, September Term, 2019

Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Did CSA err in concluding that the odor of marijuana on a person, without more, constitutes probable cause to arrest? 2) When a majority of a CSA panel concludes that its decision “will result in injustice,” should the court exercise its discretion under Maryland Rule 8-131 and address a constitutional question, which the parties fully briefed in the absence of a preservation challenge, about whether incontrovertible body-camera evidence demonstrates the “seizure” or a person without probable cause?

Pizza Di Joey, LLC, and Madame BBQ, LLC v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore - Case No. 41, September Term, 2019

Issues – Local Code – Does Baltimore City Code, Art. 15, Section 17-33 violate Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights?

Jonathan D. Smith v. State of Maryland - Case No. 43, September Term, 2019

Issues – Criminal Procedure – 1) In considering a Writ of Actual Innocence, did the lower courts err in their evaluation of third-party perpetrator evidence? 2) Did the lower courts err in their evaluation of impeachment evidence that speaks to actual innocence?

Steamfitters Local Union No. 602 v. Erie Insurance Exchange; Steamfitters Local Union No. 602 v. Cincinnati Insurance Company - Case No. 40, September Term, 2019

Issues – Torts – 1) Do Landowners owe their neighbors a duty of care to protect against potential fires starting in normal, harmless areas of their property, such as landscape mulch, caused by third persons over whom they have no control? 2) Does a Plaintiff need to provide expert testimony as to reasonable, standard and effective measures to prevent such fires? 3) Under the facts and circumstances of this case, was the spoliation instruction unfairly prejudicial to the appellants? 4) Was is proper for the trial court to enter summary judgment on an indemnity agreement where the contention was that the negligence was that of third parties whose activities were related to the indemnitor and where there were questions of fact with regard to whether the contract had expired?

 

 

Granted September 27, 2019

State of Maryland v. Kaleem Michael Frazier - Case No. 45, September Term, 2019

Issues – Criminal Law – 1) Should this Court reconsider the rule articulated in State v. Lancaster, 332 Md. 385 (1993), and hold that where two offenses are deemed the same for purposes of merger, a court may impose a sentence based on the offense that carries the greater penalty? 2) If the Court permits a sentencing court to impose a sentence available pursuant to a lesser-included offense, even if it provides the greater penalty, was Respondent’s sentence legal?

 

 

Denied September 30, 2019

Akinkoye v. Parker - Pet. Docket No. 196
Bell, Timothy v. State - Pet. Docket No. 204
Belliveau v. Airbnb, Inc. - Pet. Docket No. 146
Britton, Maurice Eugene v. State - Pet. Docket No. 224
Brooks v. O'Sullivan - Pet. Docket No. 177
Butler, Terry v. State - Pet. Docket No. 185
Calvert Coalition for Smart Growth v. Calverty Cnty - Pet. Docket No. 207
Cncl. of Unit Owners of Stonehedge Condo. v. Santizo  - Pet. Docket No.  186
Coyne, Thomas A. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 209
Craig v. Williams - Pet. Docket No. 194
Custer, Carl Lambert, Jr. v. State - Pet. Docket No. 183
Foster, Travis Wesley v. State - Pet. Docket No. 223
Gantt, Antonio v. State - Pet. Docket No. 201
Greene v. Md. Court of Special Appeals - Pet. Docket No. 175
Harrison v. Bishop - Pet. Docket No. 126
Jefferson, Edward v. State - Pet. Docket No. 203
Johnson, Anthony v. Dept. of General Services - Pet. Docket No. 179
Johnson, Steven M. v Sec'y of Dept. of Pub. Safety & Corr. Servs - Pet. Docket No. 172
Jones v. Goldberg - Pet. Docket No. 154
Mallik, Abe Arjun v. State - Pet. Docket No. 192
Meadows of Manor Farm HOA v. Chappelle - Pet. Docket No. 151 
Miles v. Brother International Corp. - Pet. Docket No. 213
Sandhu v. Kalfas -  - Pet. Docket No.  152
Sellman, Derrick Lontaye v. State - Pet. Docket No. 206
Smuck v. Webb - Pet. Docket No. 211
Spriggs, Alvin v. State - Pet. Docket No. 195
Stancil, Taylor v. State - Pet. Docket No. 216
State v. McEachin, Charles - Pet. Docket No. 129
State v. Moultrie, Tevin - Pet. Docket No.  85 and cross-petition
Wenegieme v. Nadel - Pet. Docket No. 64
Woody, Todd v. State of Maryland - Pet. Docket No. 190