Speaking just hours before the General Assembly is set to convene, Gov. Larry Hogan urged lawmakers Wednesday morning to pass as soon as possible his proposed $1 billion Relief Act for Maryland businesses and residents hardest hit by the pandemic-spurred ...

Tagged with: adrienne jones Bill Ferguson COVID-19 Larry Hogan Maryland General Assembly police reform vaccination

A pandemic-fueled economic freefall and nationwide protests calling for criminal justice reform have spurred Maryland legislators to examine ways to enhance legal representation for low-income residents facing eviction and to protect the rights of imprisoned or criminally charged youngsters this ...

Tagged with: eviction felony murder juvenile justice landlord tenant Maryland General Assembly Right to counsel

Welcome to Monday, what would have been the 2020 Maryland General Assembly‘s final day if everything had gone according to the original plan. Here are some news items to get the week started: — A tribute to a “no-nonsense” federal ...

Tagged with: arbitration clauses COVID-19 inmates Kevin Duffy Maryland General Assembly young lawyers

Under a bill now on the governor’s desk, Maryland’s public Case Search website would no longer display criminal charges that did not end with a conviction. The bill passed the Maryland General Assembly shortly before legislators adjourned last week. The ...

Tagged with: case search Maryland General Assembly maryland judiciary partial expungement

The General Assembly failed to pass legislation that would streamline the process for the wrongfully convicted to receive compensation and other benefits, frustrating advocates who hoped that years of work would finally pay off. The bill, named after exoneree Walter ...

Tagged with: exoneree compensation innocence project Maryland General Assembly Wrongful conviction

ANNAPOLIS — A push to reform and streamline the way Maryland compensates the wrongly convicted was heard in two General Assembly committees Wednesday. Senate Bill 797 and House Bill 985 propose requiring the Maryland Board of Public Works to pay individuals ...

Tagged with: exoneree innocence project Maryland General Assembly Wrongful conviction

A bill to exempt marriages formed after a crime is committed from the spousal privilege — a general rule that one spouse cannot be compelled to testify against the other in a criminal proceeding — received a favorable report from a ...

Tagged with: Court of Special Appeals house judiciary Lisae C. Jordan marriage Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault Maryland General Assembly Robin Grammer spousal privilege

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland General Assembly will again grapple with the practicality and the implications of allowing individuals to remove non-convictions from their records, with advocates continuing to push for an expansion of the state’s expungement law. Senate Bill 589 and ...

Tagged with: expungement Maryland General Assembly maryland judiciary partial expungement

ANNAPOLIS — Advocates battling wrongful convictions asked legislators Tuesday to increase transparency around the use of so-called jailhouse witnesses by requiring the disclosure of information to the defendant and a statewide database that tracks when witnesses testify as part of ...

Tagged with: innocence project jailhouse witness Maryland General Assembly Wrongful conviction

Sen. William C. “Will” Smith says he plans to take a go-slow approach in what will be his first General Assembly session as chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. “I’ll be limiting the bills that I sponsor,” said Smith, ...

Tagged with: house judiciary committee Maryland General Assembly Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee