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Tag Archives: evidence

Failure to object at trial does not waive evidentiary appeal, Md. high court says

Attention criminal defense attorneys: You do not lose your right to appeal the denial of a pretrial motion to suppress evidence if you decline to object to the introduction of that evidence at trial. In a unanimous decision, Maryland’s top ...

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Md. high court upholds rap lyrics’ admissibility in murder trial

Maryland’s top court Wednesday upheld the second-degree murder conviction of a jailhouse rap singer who argued in vain that his violent lyrics should not have been admissible at trial despite their eerie similarity to the details of the slaying. In ...

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Md. high court weighs rap lyrics’ admissibility in murder trial

Maryland Court of Appeals

A convicted murderer’s attorney told Maryland’s top court this week that the trial judge erred in admitting into evidence the violent rap lyrics his client wrote and sang to an associate during a jailhouse telephone call before trial. The lyrics ...

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Volume of body camera footage can mean overlooked evidence

The apparent failure of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office to flag a body camera video that allegedly showed an officer manipulating the footage highlights the downside to having hours of recordings of arrests as the cameras become more prevalent: ...

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Familiar criminal law, procedure bills had mixed results in 2017 session

Bills affecting evidence in sexual assault trials, opioid distribution charges, shielding of criminal records and the enforcement powers of the Office of the Comptroller all returned to the General Assembly in 2017 with varying degrees of success. Legislation to allow ...

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Md. bill targeting repeat sex offenders stymied again

Legislation to allow evidence of past sexually assaultive behavior into criminal trials has again stalled in the General Assembly despite backing from the governor’s office. The measures would allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of a defendant’s past behavior that would ...

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Md. lawmakers consider allowing prior bad acts-evidence in sex offense cases

Legislation to allow prosecutors to introduce evidence at trial of past sexually assaultive behavior under limited circumstances has returned to the General Assembly, and while advocates say it is narrowly tailored and includes procedural safeguards, defense attorneys maintain it is ...

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