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CURTIS WAYNE MONROE V. STATE OF MARYLAND
Criminal procedure — Subpoena for witnesses — Improper filing
In 1982, following a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Curtis Wayne Monroe was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and lesser included offenses.
In 2013, Monroe filed a motion to unseal the 1981 grand jury testimony of Valerie Lawson, a witness to the planning and aftermath of the robbery and shooting. After a summary denial by the circuit court, appeal to this Court, and remand, a hearing was held on February 27, 2015, at which the State reported that it could not locate the requested grand jury transcripts. The hearing was then continued so that further searches by the Clerk of Court and the State’s Attorney could be undertaken. At the reconvened hearing, on May 21, 2015, after receiving testimony from the Clerk and reviewing reports from both the Clerk and the State, the court denied Monroe’s motion to unseal the testimony, finding that the transcript no longer existed.
In this appeal, in which he appears pro se, Monroe alleges that the circuit court abused its discretion when it denied his requests to subpoena witnesses and, in so doing, accepted the State’s report without sworn testimony. Additionally, Monroe claims that the court erred when it failed to order additional searches for the grand jury testimony.
