Court-approved plea bargains can be scrapped if the crime victims were not given an opportunity to challenge the deal, Maryland’s second-highest court ruled this week. In a reported decision, the Court of Special Appeals said vacating the plea agreements preserves ...

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A judge’s too-quick mistrial declaration bars state from retrying defendant, who was charged with assault and illegal gun possession, Maryland high court says.

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Prosecutors can proceed with a third trial against the Baltimore man accused of killing 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, Maryland’s top court ruled Wednesday. Michael Johnson was originally convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 but he was granted a new trial after ...

Tagged with: Court of Appeals double jeopardy michael johnson Phylicia Barnes

A defense attorney turned a Baltimore judge’s attack on her competence, and his mistrial declaration, into a dismissal of all charges -- including murder -- against her client.

Tagged with: baltimore city circuit court double jeopardy Judge Alfred Nance mistrial

Defense counsel filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the indictment had to be dismissed on the grounds of double jeopardy due to the fact that appellant had been convicted and sentenced in Washington County for the crime of possessing the same firearm

Tagged with: criminal procedure double jeopardy Prince George's County Sept. Term 2013

A few government and politics headlines for Wednesday.

Tagged with: double jeopardy firearms gas tax gun control house of delegates income tax Martin O'Malley offshore wind senate Taxes

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared inclined Tuesday to rule that a criminal defendant cannot be tried again after a judge acquits him midway through a trial, even if the judge based his decision on a legal error. The justices ...

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The Supreme Court’s recent ruling that an informal jury poll did not rise to the level of an acquittal for double jeopardy purposes didn’t just draw mixed reactions from the justices themselves. Lawyers are also falling on both sides of ...

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that three families cannot sue a mortgage company for allegedly charging them a loan discount fee without giving them a lower interest rate. The high court’s decision tosses out lawsuits filed in ...

Tagged with: double jeopardy Inc. Justice Sonia Sotomayor lawsuit loan maryland court of appeals mortgage Supreme Court

Criminal Law Double jeopardy BOTTOM LINE: Manifest necessity did not exist where the trial judge, on the basis of information known by the judge prior to trial, declared a mistrial at the conclusion of all of the evidence in a ...

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