Greene , J. In this case, Petitioner, Kevon Spencer ("Spencer"), challenges the trial judge's finding that defense counsel's explanations for striking jurors, in light of a Batson Challenge, were a pretext for racial discrimination. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 97-98, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 1723-24, 90 L.Ed.2d 69, 88-89 (1986). Spencer argues that defense counsel provided valid, race neutral explanations; however, the trial judge did not point to evidence, on the record, to support the...
Arthur , J . This case principally concerns the powers of the Maryland Board of Public Works, "the highest administrative body in the Maryland state government." Alan M. Wilner, The Maryland Board of Public Works: A History (1984), at ix. Consisting of the Governor, the Comptroller of the Treasury, and the Treasurer, the Board of Public Works has the constitutional authority to "hear and determine such matters as affect the Public Works of the State, and as the General Assembly may confer...
Battaglia , Judge . William Todd Jamison, Petitioner, was indicted in 1990 in Baltimore County on fifteen charges related to a sexual assault; the charges included: first degree rape, second degree rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, first degree sexual offense, second degree sexual offense, third degree sexual offense, attempted murder, robbery, theft, assault, battery, and impersonating a police officer. Jamison, thereafter, entered an Alford plea 1 to first degree rape and...
Greene , J. This case involves a joint criminal trial of two codefendants. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied Respondent Tevin Hines' motion for a severance in the trial of State v. Dorrien Allen ("Allen") and Tevin Hines ("Hines"). Hines argues that this was error because he was prejudiced by the admission into evidence of a statement made by Allen, which was inadmissible against Hines. At issue in this case is a question that this Court has never squarely addressed: the...
Adkins , J. Appellant Trendon Washington is serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. He filed a petition for postconviction DNA testing pursuant to Maryland Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol., 2016 Supp.), 8-201 of the Criminal Procedure Article ("CP"). 1 The postconviction court dismissed his petition because he was not convicted of a crime of violence and is therefore not eligible for postconviction relief under the statute. We affirm the postconviction court's dismissal...
Watts , J. This attorney discipline proceeding involves a lawyer who failed to competently represent clients in two separate matters by failing to file a brief in an appeal and failing to obtain visas for a client and family in an immigration case, failed to communicate with a client, failed to perform work for which he had been paid, failed to keep a client's funds in an attorney trust account, delayed proceedings in an appeal, knowingly failed to respond to Bar Counsel, and engaged in...
Opinion by Wright , J. This appeal arises from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City entered on June 23, 2015, which affirmed the decision of appellee, the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City ("Liquor Board"), finding that appellants, Pedro Almazo Rojas, Carlos Navarro Sotelo, and Amigos Bar, Inc. t/a Amigos Bar violated Rule 4.05(a) "Prohibited Hours" and Rule 4.18 "Illegal Conduct" of the Rules and Regulations for the Baltimore City Liquor Board ("...
PER CURIAM ORDER. For reasons to be stated in an opinion later to be filed, it is this 14th day October 2016, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the Respondent, Dalton Francis Phillips 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 Dalton Francis Phillips from the register of attorneys, and pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-761,...
PER CURIAM ORDER For reasons to be stated in an opinion later to be filed, it is this 7th day October 2016, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the Respondent, Mark Howard Allenbaugh 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 Mark Howard Allenbaugh from the register of attorneys, and pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-761, shall...
Getty , J. Shakaira Simone Mollock ("Respondent") was admitted to the Bar of this Court on January 6, 2012. At all times relevant to this case, she maintained an office for the practice of law in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("Petitioner"), by Glenn M. Grossman, Bar Counsel, and Lydia E. Lawless, Assistant Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action and after the disciplinary hearing recommended that we disbar Respondent...
Nazarian , J. This medical malpractice appeal presents questions about the burden of proof under Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article 3-2A-04(b)(4), known colloquially as the Twenty Percent Rule. After finding that Karen Streaker's expert witness failed to satisfy this rule, which disqualifies expert witnesses who devote annually more than twenty percent of their professional activities to activities that directly involve testimony in personal injury claims, the Circuit Court for...
PER CURIAM ORDER For reasons to be stated in an opinion later to be filed, it is this 6th day September 2016, ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the Respondent, Steven Lee Shockett 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 Steven Lee Shockett from the register of attorneys, and pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-761, shall...
Deborah S. Eyler , J. In the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Starlena Stevenson sued S&S Partnership ("S&S"), Stanley Rochkind, and Dear Management & Construction Company ("Dear") for negligence and violations of the Consumer Protection Act ("CPA"), Md. Code (1975, 2013 Repl. Vol.), section 13-301 et seq. of the Commercial Law Article ("CL"). 1 As relevant here, she alleged that she suffered injuries as a result of ingesting lead-based paint inside 3823 Fairview Avenue ("the Fairview...
HOTTEN , J. We consider, for the third time, the case of McQuitty v. Spangler, which we previously discussed in McQuitty v. Spangler, 410 Md. 1 , 976 A.2d 1020 (2009) (" McQuitty I "), and McQuitty v. Spangler, 424 Md. 527 , 36 A.3d 928 (2012) (" McQuitty II "). 1 Specifically, we explore whether the definition of "wrongful act" under the Maryland wrongful death statute, Md. Code (2006, 2013 Repl. Vol.), 3-901 through 3-904 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article (...
ADKINS , J. In Taylor v. Taylor, 306 Md. 290 , 293, 508 A.2d 964 (1986), we decided that an award of joint custody was a permissible exercise of a trial court's general equity powers. Notably, we also explained in Taylor that the most important factor for a court to consider before awarding joint custody is the capacity of the parents to communicate and to reach shared decisions affecting a child's welfare. Id. at 304, 508 A.2d 964 . Today we address whether a court abused its...
BATTAGLIA , J. Petitioner, Stephen Blair Jackson, in 2015 filed a petition for DNA testing pursuant to Section 8-201 of the Criminal Procedure Article of the Maryland Code. 1 In his Petition, Jackson alleged that testing a piece of underwear for the presence of his DNA as well as testing of additional material collected on laboratory microscope slides, which remained from a Sexual Assault Forensics Exam ("SAFE") that had been performed on a victim, known as Patricia M., in 1993, "ha[ve]...
WOODWARD , J. The eagle suffers little birds to sing, And is not careful what they mean thereby, Knowing that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody[.] — Tamora, Titus Andronicus, Act 4, Scene 4 (W. Shakespeare) In the instant case, we are called upon to decipher the meaning of the word "suffer," and its analogs, "permit" and "allow." Specifically, we must decide whether these terms, when used in rules governing the conduct of holders of a liquor license...
KRAUSER , C.J. The issue before us is whether Pfizer Inc., appellee, may be deemed an "apparent manufacturer" of an asbestos-containing cement, "Insulag," which purportedly caused the illness and subsequent death of Carl Stein from mesothelioma. The product at issue was manufactured and sold to Mr. Stein's employer, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, by Quigley, Inc., both before and after it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer. If Pfizer does not qualify as an "apparent manufacturer,"...
WATTS , J. This case requires us to determine the amount of notice that the Motor Vehicle Administration ("the MVA"), Petitioner, is required to provide the holder of a commercial driver's license in the "Advice of Rights" form, previously labeled "DR-15," 1 as to the commercial driver's license holder's eligibility for a restrictive license after having failed an alcohol concentration test. The purpose of the Advice of Rights form is to assist law enforcement officers with making the...
GREENE , J. In this case, we address the standard of review applicable to a circuit court's review of the findings and recommendations of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for the grant or revocation of a conditional release for a "committed person" 1 pursuant to Md.Code (2001, 2008 Repl.Vol., 2015 Cum. Supp.), 3-114 et seq., of the Criminal Procedure Article ("CP"). The statutory scheme of CP, Title 3: Incompetency and Criminal Responsibility in Criminal Cases was interpreted...
