McDONALD , J. Among other things, an attorney is an "officer of the legal system and a public citizen." 1 If this is a special role in a nation that prides itself on the rule of law, then it entails a special responsibility to abide by the law. It also means that, when acting as an advocate, a lawyer must advance only arguments that are good faith interpretations of existing law or good faith efforts to change existing law. Fraudulent conduct and frivolous argument to avoid a civic...
HARRELL , J. The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("Petitioner"), acting through Bar Counsel, filed two petitions for disciplinary or remedial action ("PDRA") against John Melvin Green ("Green" or "Respondent"), pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-751, for alleged violations of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC"). We referred both cases to the Honorable Cynthia Callahan of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County to conduct a consolidated evidentiary hearing...
BARBERA , C.J. On February 19, 2014, Petitioner, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, acting through Bar Counsel, filed with this Court a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action (the "Petition") against Respondent, attorney Talieb Nilaja Wills. The Petition alleged violations of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC") in connection with Respondent's misappropriation of funds belonging to his client, Mrs. Millicent Goode, and his deceitful responses...
BARBERA , C.J. On May 14, 2013, Petitioner, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, acting through Bar Counsel, filed with this Court a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action (the "Petition") against Respondent, attorney Ronald Claude Brigerman, Jr. The Petition alleged violations of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC") in connection with Respondent's abandonment of one client, failure to communicate with several clients, misrepresentation to a client...
REED , J. This appeal involves litigation arising from the execution of a search and seizure warrant of David Bord's ("Appellant") home in which Corporal Anthony Kidwell ("Cpl. Kidwell") and Detective Socha ("Det. Socha") of the Baltimore County Police Department recovered twenty-eight firearms and a 30mm cannon. Appellant alleges that the officers mishandled the firearms, causing damages to his firearms. The primary issue before us is whether appellant is entitled to statutory damages...
NAZARIAN , J. This case began as a seemingly simple arrest warrant, but went very wrong in the execution. Frederick County Sheriff deputies Timothy Brooks and Nathan Rector (the "Deputies") 1 went to the home of Roger and Sandra Jenkins, warrant in hand, to arrest their son. Mr. Jenkins answered the door and sought to cooperate, among other ways by moving the family dogs from the house to an outside kennel. The events that followed are a matter of considerable dispute, but the...
LEAHY , J. Foreclosures are a constant reminder of the not-so-distant financial crisis and the significantly more recent economic downturn known as the Great Recession. In an effort to stem the surge in foreclosures in Maryland, the General Assembly enacted laws obligating lenders to give borrowers information regarding opportunities to avoid foreclosure. This case interprets the legislatively prescribed notice requirements that lenders must send to borrowers before initiating a...
BATTAGLIA , J. Joseph William Payne and Jason Bond were convicted in a joint trial of first degree felony murder and kidnapping, along with the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. These convictions were based, in part, on the testimony of Detective Brian Edwards of the Baltimore County Police Department. Detective Edwards testified, without having been qualified as an expert witness under Maryland Rule 5-702, 1 that by interpreting Payne's and Bond's cell phone records...
ORDER PER CURIAM . For reasons to be stated in an opinion later to be filed, it is this 10th day December 2014, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the Respondent, David Peter Buehler, be, and he is hereby, disbarred, effective immediately, from the further practice of law in the State of Maryland; and it is further ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court shall strike the name of David Peter Buehler from the register of attorneys, and pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-760(e), shall...
ARTHUR , J. This case involves a dispute over a landlord's contractual right to terminate a long-term commercial lease and to require the tenants to renegotiate the terms. The tenants, appellants Thomas A. Huggins ("Thomas") and his company, TAH, Inc. ("TAH"), contend that the landlord has no such right; the landlord, a related family business by the name of Huggins & Harrison, Inc. ("H & H"), contends that it does. The Circuit Court for Montgomery County determined that the pertinent...
MOYLAN , J. By virtue of an at least partially successful suit on the merits, the appellant is in position to recover $200,000 in damages. The appellant's aspiration, however, is to recover three and a half million dollars in damages. What stands between the already captured bird in the hand and the still elusive second bird in the bush is a statutory damages cap. The dominant issue on this appeal concerns the appellant's effort to dissolve that statutory barrier by persuading us that it...
GREENE , J. On January 23, 2013, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("Petitioner"), acting pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-751(a), directed Bar Counsel to file a "Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action" against Patrick G. Merkle ("Respondent" or "Merkle"). Petitioner charged Respondent with several violations of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC" or "Rules"), specifically MLRPC 1.1 (Competence), 1 1.2 (Scope of Representation and Allocation of...
ADKINS , J. In this tragic case, a young man, age 34, was brought to a hospital emergency room suffering from suicidal ideation and auditory and visual hallucinations. After evaluating him, health care providers decided not to admit him for psychiatric treatment and discharged him to the care of his mother. That same night, he was killed by law enforcement officers after inviting the officers to shoot him, and then aggressively rushing them. Our task is to decide whether hospital and...
BATTAGLIA , J. Under Section 8-201 of the Criminal Procedure Article of the Maryland Code, 1 a person convicted of certain specified crimes 2 is permitted to file a petition "for DNA testing of scientific identification evidence that the State possesses ... and that is related to the judgment of conviction". In 2011, Steven Johnson filed, pro se, a Motion for New Trial, later referred to as a Petition for DNA Testing, in which he requested that the State produce a T-shirt recovered...
HARRELL , J. I. THE STORY OF THE STRAIGHT-FORWARD MADE COMPLICATED In this attorney disciplinary action, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("Petitioner" or "the Commission"), acting through Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action ("PDRA") against Gayton Joseph Thomas, Jr., Esquire ("Respondent" or "Thomas"), charging him with violations of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC") arising out of his representation of Mohamed Abou...
McDONALD , J. It is said, in many contexts, that timing is everything. This case involves an important question of timing for an appellate lawyer — the time to appeal. A trial court's decision may take many forms — for example, a jury verdict, an oral ruling from the bench, a written opinion, a simple order. If there are multiple claims or multiple parties, there may be several decisions at different times that resolve the case episodically. When must a disappointed litigant commence an...
WATTS , J. We decide: (I) whether a circuit court judge other than a county administrative judge or that judge's designee may deny a motion to postpone; (II.A) whether a trial court abuses its discretion in denying a motion to postpone to obtain counsel because the trial court does not ask questions of a self-represented defendant who has expressly waived the right to counsel after being advised of the right to counsel under Maryland Rule 4-215(b) (Express Waiver of Counsel); (II.B)...
WATTS , J. "This attorney discipline proceeding concerns a Maryland lawyer who purchased and gave a handgun to a person who could not legally possess a regulated firearm." Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Reno (" Reno I "), 436 Md. 504 , 505, 83 A.3d 781 , 781 (2014). On January 24, 2014, in Reno I, id. at 511-12, 83 A.3d at 785, we held that Sandra Lynn Reno ("Reno"), Respondent, a member of the Bar of Maryland, violated Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC") 8.4(d) (...
BERGER , J. This appeal arises out of an order of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granting appellee, CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSX"), summary judgment against appellant, James F. Blackwell ("Blackwell"). Blackwell contends that the circuit court improperly concluded that his current claim is barred by a release he executed with CSX in settlement of a prior claim arising under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"). On appeal, Blackwell presents one issue 1 for our review,...
JAMES P. SALMON (Retired, Specifically Assigned), J. This interlocutory appeal originated in a guardianship case that involves Zealand W. (born September 9, 2000) and Zealand's sister, Sophia W. (born January 11, 2003). The appellant in this case is Susan W., the mother of Zealand and Sophia. The appellee is Conway Tattersall ["Mr. Tattersall"]. On September 20, 2012, David W., the father of Zealand and Sophia, died in Montgomery County, Maryland. Five days after David W.'s death, his...
