A convicted killer’s bid for a new trial could depend on whether a judge’s notes or a court reporter’s transcript is to be believed. Maryland’s top court on Friday unanimously ordered a review of Mark Edmund Christian II’s February 2012 ...

Tagged with: court reporter judicial affidavit jury instruction trial transcript Unger v. State

Though Maryland’s prison population is down and legislative changes have reduced sentences for a number of nonviolent offenses, the reform discussion has not addressed a significant portion of the prison population: violent offenders who have served decades of their life ...

Tagged with: justice reinvestment act parole and probation Prison Unger v. State

A Wicomico County man found guilty last year in a retrial for the 1980 murder of his wife has had his second conviction upheld by Maryland’s intermediate appellate court.

Tagged with: charles edward simms Court of Special Appeals Unger v. State

Criminals seeking to overturn post-1980 convictions based on “advisory” jury instructions are out of luck if their attorneys failed to object at trial, court says.

Tagged with: Jury instructions Stevenson v. State Unger v. State

Maryland appellate courts have broad discretion to overturn pre-1980 convictions for violent crimes, as those guilty verdicts in all likelihood resulted from unconstitutional, “advisory” jury instructions, the state’s top court ruled Thursday.

Tagged with: due process State v. Waine Unger v. State

Attorneys for a convicted rapist and the state argued Thursday over whether Maryland appellate courts should routinely order new trials for inmates convicted of violent crimes before 1980 or if their appeals should be uniformly reviewed by circuit courts to determine if the convicts’ due process rights were in fact violated and a retrial is in order.

Tagged with: due process State v. Waine Unger v. State