Nearly eight months ago the Supreme Court ruled that the carrying a handgun in public is a constitutional right protected by the Second Amendment. In fashioning this ruling, the court declared that state and local governments shall issue concealed carry permits to qualified individuals who can satisfy objective requirements such…
The 2023 Maryland legislative session is underway, and there are currently dozens of criminal law bills that are being debated in Annapolis. Guns, marijuana and juvenile justice reform are three of the main issues this year, but there are numerous other proposals that could significantly alter the way crimes are…
As of midnight on January 1, possession of more than 10 grams of marijuana is no longer a crime in Maryland, and more changes to the state’s pot laws are in store for the rest of 2023. Back in 2014 when Marijuana possession was first decriminalized there was much debate…
Ten years ago marijuana first became legal in parts of the United States after voters in Washington and Colorado approved recreational cannabis. Over the last decade an additional 17 states and the District of Columbia all followed suit and voted to legalize marijuana use for adults. Maryland lawmakers have been…
On October 1 a host of new laws took effect in Maryland, though most of these laws do not modify existing criminal laws or procedure. There are however two laws that will impact on our state’s criminal justice system. The first new law prohibits a spouse from invoking the marital…
A current member of the Maryland House of Delegates was recently charged with numerous offenses according to a criminal information that was filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. The information, which is a charging document filed by a state prosecutor, alleges that the lawmaker committed misconduct in…
The legalization of marijuana in Maryland is now officially in the hands of the voters, as the cannabis reform bill became law at the recent close of the 2022 legislative session in Annapolis. Rather than endorse the bill with his signature, the governor simply let it take effect without a…
The 2022 Maryland legislative session has come to a close, and now the Governor must decide the fate of numerous bills that passed the House and Senate. In total there were 140 enacted bills this year, but less than 20 were criminal law related. There will be no groundbreaking criminal…
In 2016 Maryland lawmakers passed Noah’s Law, which mandated the installation of engine interlock devices for anyone convicted of DUI. The law also significantly increased administrative driver’s license suspensions for those who either refused to take a breathalyzer test or for those who tested over the legal limit of .08. …
The Maryland House of Delegates has done its part to assure that Maryland will legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the near future, and now the matter is in the hands of the Senate. Back in December we posted about House Bill 1 that was pre-filed before the 2022…