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The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently announced that a former dealer at a Maryland casino was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a card table scam, which resulted in the casino losing in excess of $1 million. The convicted defendant will be placed on probation after he is released from prison, and ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,046,560. The scam took place at the Baccarat table, where the dealer conspired with players by giving them a glimpse of the cards before they were placed in the shoe to be dealt. The players involved in the conspiracy would then drastically increase their bets when the previously revealed cards were about to be dealt into the game. The government did not state how it caught on to the scam or whether there were any cooperating defendants, but all bets are on camera and large winnings will always be scrutinized by casino security. In this particular case the FBI eventually became involved likely due to the large amount of money that was involved in the conspiracy, and the fact that the scheme took place in more than one county. The defendant admitted that he taught other co-conspirators at a different casino about the scam, and then was paid a percentage of the illegitimate winnings. According to the government to scheme took place from July 2017 to September 2017.

The actual charge the former dealer pled to was conspiracy to transport stolen funds, which is a felony under federal law. The defendant likely would have faced a great deal more than 18 months in prison if he unsuccessfully took his case to trial. Typically when there is a theft or fraud case with a large amount of restitution the judge will take into account that a long prison sentence will negatively impact the defendant’s ability to repay the money to the victim. Some victims will tell the judge their main concern is recovering the stolen money, which usually benefits the defendant. Defendants that are spared a large prison sentence in order to pay restitution may find themselves back before the court on a violation of probation if they do not pay the money. Some judges have reservations about jailing a defendant for failing to pay restitution, but if no effort is made then judges will say they have no choice. The Blog will follow this story and may post another article if there is news from the Greenbelt federal courthouse about any of the co-defendants. The FBI will continue to be involved with fraud cases at the Maryland casinos in order to punish those involved and send a message to future offenders. There are so many new casinos popping up around the country and many can be vulnerable to theft schemes due to inexperienced or improperly trained security staff.

The legalization of casino gambling several years ago has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the state of Maryland, but there are now numerous criminal cases coming from the numerous casino cases across the state. Maryland Live in Anne Arundel County, MGM in Prince George’s County and the Horseshoe in Baltimore City are the largest and most visited casinos in the state, and also the source of the numerous criminal charges. Casinos take all offenses committed on their property extremely seriously and often have overzealous security staff who are itching to have patrons charged. Benjamin Herbst has represented dozens of defendants charged with crimes at the Maryland casinos, and is available for a free consultation anytime at 410-207-2598. Benjamin has handled casino theft, counterfeit currency, gun possession and trespass charges occurring at the Maryland casinos. He also specializes in federal conspiracy charges, representing out of state defendants, and defendants facing violations of the Maryland Voluntary Exclusion Program.

There are a number of different ways to appeal or modify a criminal case in Maryland, and the rights of a defendant depend on where the case took place and whether it ended in a plea or a trial. All defendants with cases heard in the District Court of Maryland have an absolute right to appeal the outcome within 30 days to the circuit court. This includes criminal cases, traffic citations, peace orders, protective orders and civil cases. The appeal must be filed in writing with the district court clerk, and if the 30^th day falls on a weekend or holiday the next business day is the final day. District court cases that are appealed will be assigned a new case number in the circuit court, and start over form scratch, which is called a de novo appeal. The circuit court judge will not (or is not supposed to) place any weight on the verdict or judgment from the district court in making his or her rulings.

The amount of time it takes for an appeal to be scheduled in circuit court depends on the jurisdiction. It can be as little as a few weeks in some, and a few months in others. During the time between the appeal and the new circuit court date a defendant who was placed on probation is still required to report as directed. If jail time was a part of the sentence, the defendant may still be required to serve unless the sentence is stayed or the defendant posts an appeal bond. The one exception to the automatic appeal rule is cases where probation before judgment is granted and accepted. Defendants who receive PBJ in any case waive their right to appeal to the circuit court, and their case is effectively over once the sentence is announced. The right to an automatic circuit court appeal is the same regardless of whether the case went to trial or the defendant took a plea.

Appealing a Maryland circuit court case is an entirely different animal, and the defendant’s rights depend on whether the case ended in a plea or a trial. A defendant who is found guilty after trial has an automatic right to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis, which is the state’s intermediate appellate court. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days at the circuit court clerk’s office, but the actual appellate brief will be filed several months down the road. In order to write an appellate brief the attorney will review transcripts of the entire trial, and then pick out any issues that may have been reversible error. In criminal cases where the defendant pled guilty he or she will not have an automatic right to appeal, but will actually have to ask for permission or leave to appeal from the court. Receiving leave to appeal is very rare, and in most cases will be denied. This should be something to consider when deciding to accept or reject a plea offer.

Once the criminal justice system starts moving against a defendant in Maryland it becomes extremely difficult to undo the process. We are often contacted by victims who are requesting assistance in dropping charges against a defendant, and if you happen to be in this situation there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, victims in a criminal case never have total control over the prosecution of the case.   The State is the plaintiff in all Maryland criminal actions, and it is represented by the State’s Attorney’s Office in the county (or Baltimore City) where the case is prosecuted. The assistant State’s Attorney or the supervisor assigned to the case will have the ultimate decision whether to drop the charges or prosecute. As a general rule prosecutors will not simply drop a charge because the victim has had a change of heart, but this does not mean it’s out of the question. If you are a victim and want to have criminal charges dropped your best bet in many jurisdictions is to reach out to the State’s Attorney’s Office, and inform them in writing of your desire to drop the charges. Keep in mind that you should not make any incriminating statements, whether written or verbal. You should also never admit that you lied or exaggerated with respect to any statements made to the police or written in a statement of charges. Doing so could subject you to criminal prosecution for false statement to a law enforcement officer and in some extreme cases even perjury, so we advise consulting to a lawyer before speaking to the State’s Attorney’s Office about dropping charges.

In some jurisdictions the prosecutors are too busy to prosecute cases with uncooperative victims. Dozens of cases are dropped each day in places such as Baltimore City and Prince George’s County because victims fail to show up for court, but there is no blanket policy for this. A defendant should never expect his or her case to be dropped if the victim fails to show up for court, especially in cases where there the defendant and victim have had prior contacts with the criminal justice system. In cases where the victim does not show up for court, prosecutors have the ability to seek a body attachment for witnesses that have been served with a summons to appear in court. This means the sheriff could actually arrest a victim of a case and hold them in custody until the trial has concluded. This is pretty rare, but is not out of the question in felony assault cases and even second-degree assault cases involving injuries or repeat offenders.

A victim who is summonsed to appear in court must legally comply with the summons regardless of whether they want the case to move forward. But there are still ways to have the case dismissed or nolle prossed upon showing up for court. In cases where the victim and defendant are married, the victim cannot be compelled to testify against his or her spouse. The marital privilege has a few exceptions including that it cannot be invoked in a case involving child abuse and cannot be used more that once in an assault case, but other than that it is usually a foolproof way to have a case dropped. Keep in mind that the State could still choose to move forward without the testimony of the victim, but they would need some sort of other evidence such as independent witness testimony or the recording of a 911 call. In addition to marital privilege, a victim may also be able to invoke the 5^th Amendment. No person can be compelled to testify in a criminal case if their testimony could be incriminating and result in potential charges.   5^th Amendment invocation is common when two people are victims and defendants over the same incident, but it can be used in assault cases where only one person was charged. There are some exceptions to 5^th Amendment invocation, and Benjamin Herbst is a Maryland second-degree and first-degree assault lawyer that offers free consultations about this and all other criminal matters. He is available 7 days a week at 410-207-2598.

Finding out that there is a warrant for your arrest is stressful and frightening, but it’s even worse if you think there is a warrant but you can’t find out for sure. The uncertainty and the waiting can often be a great deal more stressful than just taking care of the warrant and moving on with your life, but unfortunately in Maryland the judicial system is set up to keep many warrants sealed. The two types of arrest warrants in Maryland are bench warrants and arrest warrants. District or circuit court judges commonly issue bench warrants in cases where the defendant fails to appear or has violated a condition of his or her probation or pre-trial release. A judge can also issue a bench warrant for failure to pay fines or court costs, though this is much less common. Bench warrants are pubic and easily accessible by searching online or going to the clerk’s office. Arrest warrants on the other hand are issued by court commissioners or judges upon receiving a charging document from the State’s Attorney’s Office, a police officer or a civilian. Arrest warrants are sealed for 90 days or until served, which means the public will not be able to look them up on the case search website.

If you think you may have an arrest warrant there may be ways for you to confirm it, but this depends where your case is located. Some police departments such as Montgomery County are more than happy to check to see if you have a warrant, and even have warrants departments for this very purpose. It seems in their eyes there is a greater likelihood a person will schedule a turn in if they can know for sure there is a warrant. Other counties like Baltimore County have a strict policy where they will only give out warrant information to the defendant in person by showing up at a precinct. Baltimore County and many other police departments around Maryland do not give out warrant information over the phone, even to a lawyer. This obviously makes it more difficult to plan for a surrender prior to a warrant squad coming to get you at an inconvenient time. There is really no sound logic to keeping all warrants sealed, as most people who think they have a warrant will behave as if they do have one, and not just sit back and wait to be arrested. The exception is the issuance of a warrant pursuant to a sealed indictment in a complex criminal investigation where the risk of flight is high, but these cases are not the norm (especially in the state court system).

If you are able to find out that there is an arrest warrant the two most sensible options are to attempt to file a motion to convert the warrant into a summons or to surrender on your own terms.   A criminal defense lawyer can file a motion to convert an arrest warrant into a summons as long as he or she can locate the case number. Some district court judges will deny these motions as a matter of course and cite the District Court Administrative Regulations, but these regulations do not clearly prohibit a judge from converting a warrant into a summons, so it’s always worth a shot. If the motion is denied the next best option is to schedule a surrender at a police precinct or a commissioner’s office that is next to a jail or police station. Defendants who are served with an arrest warrant will have to be booked before seeing the commissioner, so the process may take several hours. In arrest warrant cases where there is a pre-set bail the defendant will not see the commissioner and can post bail as soon as the booking process is completed. Defendants can also wait until the next day to see the judge to request a reduced or unsecured bail, or release on recognizance.

While legalizing marijuana has been discussed in previous legislative sessions, a legitimate proposal has yet to gain steam in Annapolis. Recreational marijuana will be legalized in Maryland within the next few years one way or another, but the state will move at its own pace. Based off the medical program that pace can be described as deliberate, or just plain slow. In order for legalization to actually have a legitimate shot of becoming law in 2020 the momentum has to start building soon, and it appears the ball has already started rolling. This past week a group of Maryland lawmakers conducted their first meetings as members of the marijuana legalization task force, which is a major sign that legalization has a legitimate shot of passing next year. This is not the first time a task force has been convened to address state marijuana policy, but this year it seems the sole focus is on legalization.

The bi-partisan task force is made up of state senators and delegates, and is expected to make formal recommendations by the end of the calendar year, which will be used to shape legislation when the 2020 session opens in January. Members will divide up into subcommittees that will focus on a variety of issues such as the impact on the criminal justice system, potential tax rates, licensing requirements and the impact on public health. Lawmakers will also seek the advice of outside experts with respect to issues such as the conflict between state legalization and federal laws that still consider marijuana to be a controlled substance.

This being a criminal law Blog, we’ll take a minute to comment on the criminal justice impacts that legalization could produce. The most obvious impact would be that criminal cases for possession of marijuana would likely cease to exist, with the exception being possession by minors and adults under the age of 21. Lawmakers would have to address whether possession by an underage person would be a civil infraction like with alcohol, or a criminal infraction. New regulations on the on the amount of pot a person could possess and where they could possess it would be imposed, but violation of these rules would likely be a civil infraction. Legalization would drastically reduce possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute cases, as the customer base would shrink to those who are unable to purchase at a dispensary, namely those under 21. Finally, charges for manufacturing marijuana (growing at home) would also be drastically reduced, as legalization would likely allow a limited number of plants to be cultivated within the confines of a lawful private residence.

Under Maryland law all defendants who are charged with an offense that carries more than 90 days in jail are entitled to a jury trial, but requesting a jury trial and actually going through with one are two entirely different things. Requesting or praying a jury trial occurs when a defendant decides to transfer his or her case from the district court to the circuit court. Almost all criminal cases start out in the district court, but jurors are never summoned to appear in district court and they don’t conduct jury trials. Felony charges (except theft and other exceptions like animal cruelty) must eventually be handled in the circuit court due to jurisdiction rules, but there are countless misdemeanor charges that are handled in district court and provide a jury trial right. Common offenses in this category include second-degree assault, theft (all types over $100), DUI, malicious destruction of property and drug possession. Defendants facing trial in district court for these offenses have the option to stay put or move to the circuit court, and there are conflicting opinions about what the right decision may be.

Circuit court is the higher court and the most serious crimes are handled there, but this should not be a deterrent to defendants who are thinking about requesting a jury trial. Keep in mind that circuit court judges are used to hearing felony cases such as murder, robbery and drug distribution all day, so your misdemeanor case usually won’t seem like the crime of the century in their eyes. Additionally, circuit court prosecutors are more experienced and have a better grasp on the cases where they should ask for a harsh sentence, and the ones where they should take a step back. Generally speaking, if you have a misdemeanor charge or a felony theft charge the judges and prosecutors tend to be more reasonable in circuit court, so it may be beneficial to request a jury trial. In some jurisdictions like Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City and Queen Anne’s County it’s usually a good idea to request a jury trial, and in others it depends on the judge.

Once again, requesting a jury trial and actually going through with a jury trial are two different things. Once the case is in circuit court you will eventually have to decide whether to accept a STET, plead guilty or go to trial with a judge or a jury. As a general rule if the state offers to STET your case (postpone the case indefinitely without a finding of guilt) you should accept. You could always decide to bring the case back and fight it within a year, but usually it’s not worth the gamble if you can guarantee the case will be closed without admitting any type of guilt. Deciding whether to accept a plea is always up to the defendant, but everyone in this position should have a lawyer to consult with before making this important decision. Finally, the last decision if the case can’t be worked out is to decide between a court trial and a jury trial. At a court trial the judge will determine guilt or innocence after hearing the evidence, which basically means the entire trial is in the hands of one person. At a jury trial in Maryland, the state must convince all 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt in order for them to come back with a guilty verdict. A good criminal defense lawyer will stress to the jury just how difficult it is to reach the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If the jury is unsure they must acquit, which is something that must be hammered home at all stages of the trial.