Maryland Criminal Attorney BlogSilverman Thompson attorneys Brian Thompson, Riane White, and Patrick Seidel recently scored a major victory for a married couple facing a 30-count indictment for serious felonies, including armed robbery, extortion, and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. They faced maximum sentences of over 100 years if convicted on all counts. To make matters worse, the entire incident was caught on surveillance video. Silverman Thompson represented the husband and coordinated closely with the wife’s defense team.
Articles Posted in Trials
An Important Milestone in the Effort to Hold the City and Police Department Liable for the Harms Caused by the Gun Trace Task Force
The Gun Trace Task Force was an elite unit within the Baltimore City Police Department tasked with getting illegal guns off the streets. But as a blockbuster federal investigation revealed, GTTF members were themselves criminals of the worst kind: crooked cops who conspired to terrorize the very same citizens they swore to protect and defend. Their misconduct was shocking even for a City accustomed to police scandals: suspicion-less stops and arrests, writing false police reports and fake search warrants, lying in court, planting evidence, beating detainees, robbing citizens, and on and on. Some measure of justice was achieved after the officers involved were convicted of federal conspiracy charges, but the battle to ensure appropriate compensation for the victims is ongoing. A recent decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals in two cases brought by GTTF victims represents an important victory in that battle.
Freddie Gray Police Officers Chaged Today: What Happens Next
Now that all police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray have been charged by the Baltimore State’s Attorney, I will lay out what to expect in the next 30 days.
Summary of Dillard v. State Decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals on August 25, 2010
In this Maryland criminal case, Defendant Dillard was charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and related offenses. Detective Smith was the State’s primary witness. During trial, it was brought to the court’s attention that during a lunch break two jurors walked by Detective Smith, patted him on the back and said “good job.” The defense attorney moved for a mistrial. The State asserted a mistrial was not necessary because the jurors had not made a specific comment about their opinions of Dillard’s guilt. The trial judge denied the motion for mistrial and refused to replace one of the jurors with an alternate. The jury convicted Dillard. Dillard appealed to the Court of Special Appeals which affirmed the trial judge. The Court of Appeals reversed Dillard’s conviction. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court’s failure to conduct a voir dire examination of the jurors to determine whether the jurors had reached a premature conclusion as to Dillard’s guilt or formed fixed opinions constituted an abuse of discretion.