Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Maryland Legislature

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1136758_were_at_war.jpgMaryland lawmakers are set to begin the 2013 legislative session next week in Annapolis, and gun control is one topic on the minds of many representatives. State legislatures from all over the country will undoubtedly take a deep look into their respective gun laws following the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, and Maryland is no exception. At least one representative, a democrat from Baltimore County, has already publically proposed a bill that would require active duty police officers to be deployed full time in all state public schools. There are currently school resources officers in many middle and high schools and a few elementary schools, but deploying these officers in public schools is not mandatory. School resource officers are sworn policemen and women that have arrest powers, and carry standard issue police firearms. The bill was submitted as emergency legislation, which means that if it passes it could go into effect as soon as February. It is obviously too early to tell if the bill will receive any opposition, but it seems as if the financial burden on local police jurisdictions would be the only obstacle to the bill’s passage.

If the bill is passed in the next few weeks, it could cost Maryland’s city and county police departments between 50 and 70 million dollars per year. This money would likely come from gambling revenue that is already earmarked for the state’s schools. It seems logical that this bill will pass easily and the required funds will be made available. Many had been questioning why this type of law was not implicated pre Newtown, and now after the latest school tragedy the legislature is unlikely to go through the next 3 months without putting a gun control law on the books. Requiring police in every public school is not the only bill that will be proposed in the upcoming session. Many representatives have also come out in support of a state ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. This bill may meet slightly more opposition than the school officer bill due to the constitutional issues that it may present. There may also be a bill introduced in Annapolis that attempts to keep all guns away from anyone with a dangerous mental illness, but this bill may have the same constitutional issues in addition to being difficult to implement.
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1394618_pills_out_of_bottle.jpgThe war on prescription drug abuse has been effective in decreasing the availability of commonly abused pills such as oxycodone and other narcotics. But as an unintended consequence, heroin use in Maryland has actually been on the rise. More people are using heroin, and state officials are reporting a significant jump in the number of deaths attributed to heroin overdoses in 2012. In fact, in the first half of 2012 heroin related overdoses increased 41 percent, with 205 deaths reported from January to July of this year compared to 145 in 2011 over the same time frame. There could be a wide variety of reasons for the jump in overdoses, which according to state officials signals a definite jump in use of the drug, but the leading factor is likely a recent crackdown on pill mills.

Pill mills have become a booming business over the past decade in dozens of states across the country. Most of the states affected lack actual legislation or strict medical board rules to control the amount of narcotics that are prescribed and purchased. Although there are thousands of legitimate pain clinics across the country with well trained and respected physicians, there are also some clinics who’s sole purpose is to rake in huge amounts of money with absolutely no motivation to care for their patients. These clinics are often owned by businessmen with no medical training, and sometimes employ doctors by the month. These doctors are been paid as much as $100,000 per month to simply write prescriptions all day, many times after speaking with their patients for less than 5 minutes. The prescriptions allow the patients to buy powerful narcotic painkillers such as oxycodone by the hundreds. Many of the patients are addicts themselves, and others simply use the pain clinics to obtain a cheap supply of the drugs to sell for a profit. It is not unreasonable for one person to walk out of a pill mill with a prescription for 300 oxycodone pills that sell for ten times more on the street than what it costs to buy in the pharmacy.
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48715_marijuana_plants_growing_outdo.jpgThe Maryland Legislature is scheduled to begin its 2013 legislative session next month, and marijuana is one issue that is sure to be hotly debated. Medical marijuana supporters and personal use advocates alike hope that this year’s session makes more progress in the fight for decriminalization. Toward the end of last year’s legislative session, the head of the state’s department of health went on record saying that he would not support decriminalization as long as federal law continued to define pot as an illegal controlled substance. The department head cited concerns that his state employees could be subject to federal prosecution under the controlled substances act and there would be nothing the state could do to protect them. The head of any state agency has a duty to protect his or her employees, but the broader issue is also that state lawmakers want to protect their constituents as well. It would certainly not look good for Annapolis if Maryland citizens were being prosecuted federally for following a law that their own delegates supported and eventually passed. But supporters of marijuana decriminalization have hope that this year will be different based on two influential votes on this past Election Day.

As readers of this blog and those who have been following national drug laws are aware, Colorado and Washington State voted to decriminalize personal marijuana use. Both states, and close to 20 others including Washington D.C. already had medical marijuana laws on the books, but this past election took the movement to new heights. Local advocates back here in Maryland are now optimistic that the legislature will consider the Colorado and Washington laws in crafting their own legislation. Obviously we cannot expect that Annapolis will jump on board with personal use decriminalization, but medical marijuana laws in this year’s session are a distinct possibility. There is no official word from the Governor’s office to date that would indicate which way O’Malley is leaning, and his future political aspirations could play into his decision to support a medical use law. A politician with greater aspirations is likely to be more conservative in his or her final years. For now though, lobbyists, grass roots advocates, and users have some reason for optimism.
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917191_fulles-04.jpgA variety of new Maryland laws are set to go into effect on Monday, October 1st. Many of these new Maryland laws are part to the criminal justice system, most notably the Maryland marijuana possession law. After years of lobbying by marijuana legalization groups, the Maryland state legislature finally voted to change the state’s harsh marijuana possession laws. Starting on Monday, the maximum penalty for simple possession of marijuana will be lowered from 1 year in jail to 90 days in jail, and the maximum fine will be lowered from $1,000 to $500. Simple possession of marijuana is possession of less than 10 grams of the controlled substance. Pressure from pro marijuana lobbyist groups was not the only reason that the legislature and governor agreed with the new marijuana penalties. The legislature was also swayed by proponents of a more streamlined judicial system.

Possession of marijuana cases have been clogging the district court dockets in Maryland for years, especially in densely populated jurisdictions such as Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Prince George’s County. But in the past, many of these simple marijuana possession cases would also end up clogging the circuit court dockets as well. By lowering the maximum penalty for possession of marijuana to 90 days, a defendant is no longer allowed to demand a trial by jury in the circuit court, and starting October 1st possession of marijuana cases will for the most part begin and end in district court. Under the Maryland rules of criminal procedure a defendant may only demand a jury trial if he or she is facing more than 90 days incarceration. The new marijuana possession laws may seem like a victory for marijuana legalization supporters, but losing the right to a jury trial could prove to be a significant detriment to a possession of marijuana defendant who decides to fight his or her charges. Demanding a jury trial in a possession of marijuana case was not only a means to guarantee due process, but also a significant bargaining chip that a defense lawyer could use to earn a better negotiated offer from the state prosecuting lawyer.
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439288_roach.jpgEnforcing Maryland marijuana laws is still a top priority for law enforcement agencies throughout the state, but public sentiment about the drug may be changing the way police look at marijuana cases. Marijuana arrests still account for the majority of all drug arrests throughout Maryland, and in most jurisdictions the ratio of marijuana arrests to other drug arrests is not even close. For example, in Montgomery County 67 percent of all drug possession arrests were for marijuana possession in 2011, and a staggering 74 percent of all drug possession arrests were for marijuana in 2010. These numbers would be even higher if all drug cases processed by Montgomery County Police were included, because a large number of marijuana possession defendants are not arrested, but rather are issued citations for the crime. In contrast, suspects caught by police with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin are almost always arrested at the crime scene. So far in 2012 the percentage of marijuana arrests to all drug arrests has fallen slightly to 63 percent. The question being asked now is whether this percentage will continue to drop as Maryland citizens and Maryland lawmakers become more tolerant of marijuana use.

The Maryland legislature sent a major message to the public when it lowered the maximum penalty for possession of marijuana from one hear in jail to 90 days in jail. The Baltimore Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog has thoroughly documented the softening of marijuana punishments, which will take effect in October, but one topic that has not been discussed is how law enforcement will respond to the legislature’s message. It appears for now that Montgomery County law enforcement will continue to enforce Maryland’s marijuana laws, but Montgomery police may be shifting their attention and focus to marijuana dealers and suppliers rather than users. The head of the county’s drug enforcement section has gone on record stating that Marijuana will still be a priority due to the drug’s prevalence and availability, but county cops are being told to arrest the marijuana dealers, rather than to specifically target the drug’s users. This is clearly a shift in the traditional way we look at law enforcement. Police officers have always targeted certain crimes more than others, but when a top cop goes on record stating that certain laws will be enforced with more vigor than others, change is clearly in the air. There also may be a shift in the way marijuana possession cases are prosecuted by the state’s attorney.
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images.jpegIn the past few years the Maryland legislature has weakened its stance on the prosecution of marijuana possession cases. This trend began with the passing of laws that allow defendants charged with possession of marijuana to assert the legal defense of medical necessity. The Maryland legislature also went on to pass a law that will decrease the maximum jail sentence that a defendant charged with a first offense of possession of marijuana can receive. Come October, a first offense for marijuana possession will carry a 60 day maximum jail sentence rather than the scarcely used 1 year maximum jail sentence. Surprisingly though, the Maryland legislature has remained silent on the issue of synthetic marijuana.

Synthetic marijuana is not a new substance, as it has been around for almost 10 years, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years. More gas stations, convenience stores, and liquor stores are beginning to stock their shelves with the substance often referred to as spice or K2. And the synthetic marijuana has been flying off these shelves lately as a legal, easy to obtain alternative to marijuana. The substance is also desirable because although it can be tested for, it does not produce a positive drug test for marijuana or cannabis. With the increase in synthetic marijuana’s popularity comes increased attention by lawmakers and law enforcement, but will lawmakers actually take action to regulate the fake marijuana?
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1335478_glasses.jpgIn Maryland, and throughout the county, drunk driving is one of the most publicized crimes in the entire justice system. Not only is drunk driving the most common crime in the country according to the bureau of justice statistics arrest data, but drunk driving also affects the widest range of people. Drink driving defendants come from all ages and backgrounds, with some being multiple convicted criminals and others being first time offenders. Drunk driving also affects a wide range of victims, including children. Each year, powerful and well funded lobby groups pour millions of dollars into establishing comprehensive drunk driving educational programs in our schools, and educational commercials on television and radio. These lobby groups also influence state and federal lawmakers to pursue and maintain strict drunk driving laws, and are many times successful in influencing these lawmakers. Recently some of this attention has Maryland drunk driving laws in the news as well.

Maryland drunk driving laws have recently been called into question for being too lenient relative to other states in the country. A closer look at the DUI laws in other states reveals that this criticism does not appear to be a reasonable one. Maryland currently has the 26th strictest drunk driving laws in the country according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). While this statistic puts Maryland in the middle of the pack in terms of strictness, these numbers can be misleading. Although Maryland may not have as strict a drunk driving policy as Utah, which enforces a 2 day minimum mandatory jail sentence for a first DUI, by no means is Maryland a lenient state when it comes to drunk driving.
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1314902_medical_doctor.jpgThe recent movement to legalize medical marijuana in Maryland has been gaining steam each year, and the state legislature is slowly moving toward joining 17 other states and Washington D.C. as medical marijuana states. Although there is no medical marijuana bill currently being debated, the Maryland legislature is trending in the medical marijuana direction, as evidenced by recent bills that have modified state marijuana laws. Just last year, the Maryland governor signed off on a law that effectively decriminalizes marijuana use provided that the accused can produce a valid note from a licensed medical doctor that indicates a medical necessity for the drug. In addition, the Maryland legislature passed a law that will lower the maximum penalty for simple possession of marijuana from 1 year in jail to 90 days in jail. On the other hand, medical marijuana is still not legal in Maryland, and regardless of where the state legislature is trending, thousands of Marylanders are still being arrested for possession of the drug each year.

The medical marijuana decriminalization law only comes into play after a defendant has been arrested or ticketed for marijuana possession, because the law only authorizes a judge or prosecuting lawyer to dismiss criminal charges upon production of a valid doctor’s note. In other words, a person with a doctor’s note for medical marijuana use cannot simply show the note to a Maryland police officer and expect to be told to be on their way. Decriminalization of medical marijuana does not mean legalization, but there is no doubt that in the next few years Maryland will take the next step to full medical marijuana legalization. It is simply unrealistic to assume that the state’s justice system will continue to support a policy that requires producing doctor’s notes to judges and prosecuting lawyers. When medical marijuana becomes legal in Maryland, and undoubtedly during legislative debating sessions, a critical question that will be asked is whether medical marijuana legalizations will result in increased numbers of teen drug use.
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1268685_washington_monument.jpgWashington D.C. currently has tougher marijuana laws than Maryland and Virginia but that may change if D.C. mayor Vincent Gray can sway district officials in the coming months. The mayor has publically stated that the D.C. government will focus on implementing their medical marijuana program, but should not ignore the opportunity to make policy changes for recreational marijuana users. Washington’s medical marijuana law was approved in 2010 and allows sanctioned marijuana dispensaries to grow and distribute to drug to patients with a medical marijuana prescription. The city’s medical marijuana program has struggled to gain support from the community as a whole, and changing this perception appears to be the mayor’s main focus. But decriminalization of marijuana is still on the government’s radar, and the policy changes that the mayor is speaking of would not necessarily mean legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Rather the first step would be to decriminalize the drug, making simple possession of marijuana punishable only by a civil fine, and not by a term of incarceration as the law currently provides.

Criminal possession of marijuana in Washington D.C. carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months and a $1,000 fine for first time offenders. Meanwhile in Maryland, the legislature recently passed a law that will lower the maximum jail time for a first offense of possession of marijuana from 1 year to 90 days. Technically speaking Maryland will have a tougher possession of marijuana maximum penalty than D.C. until October when the law goes into effect, but the Maryland criminal justice system is already changing the way possession of marijuana cases are handled, and has been for some time. First time offenders rarely receive a jail sentence for simple possession of marijuana in Maryland, much less anywhere close to the maximum jail sentence under Maryland law. The state of Virginia has even more lenient marijuana laws than the new Maryland law, as a first time possession of marijuana charge carries a maximum jail sentence of 30 days.
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75579_drunk_driving.jpgWe have all heard of the term drunk driving, as DUI is one of the most common crimes in Maryland. In fact, DUI is one of the most common crimes in the entire country, as police make nearly 1.5 million DUI arrests per year in America. But what about drugged driving? Driving while under the influence of a drug such as marijuana is technically illegal in Maryland, but under Maryland law there are no definitive drug testing procedures for DUI. Under Maryland law you can be convicted of DWI with a blood alcohol concentration of .07 to .08, and for DUI with a blood alcohol concentration over .08. While these standardized numbers are somewhat arbitrary because everyone feels the effects of alcohol in different ways, the standardized numbers do provide at least the image of consistency and uniformity in DUI prosecutions. On the other hand, Maryland law does not indicate specific levels of drug concentration in the blood that would define driving while under the influence of drugs. If a police officer suspects someone is driving under the influence of drugs and not alcohol the officer can request the suspect to submit to a drug test. The question has been and will continue to be- what exactly do the results of a drug test tell us with respect to DWI?

If a person is arrested for DWI and submits to a drug test a positive result will be used against that person in court, but that drug test really tells us very little about the person’s impairment at the time he or she was driving. Marijuana can stay in a person’s system for weeks, and thus a positive marijuana test would have little probative value in court and a huge prejudicial effect on the defendant. Even a positive cocaine test would offer little probative value in court, as cocaine can stay in the system for days. Why should a jury be entitled to see evidence that a DUI defendant tested positive for cocaine when the defendant took the cocaine 2 days prior to the DUI arrest? The same goes for prescription medications such as painkillers like oxycodone and Vicodin or anti anxiety pills like Xanax and Valium. At least one state is currently addressing this issue, as Colorado lawmakers are debating whether to pass a law that quantifies the amount of marijuana that a person can legally have in his or her blood in order to avoid a conviction for DUI.
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