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“Clerical Error” Renders Firearm Serial Number Law Invalid

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Altering or removing a serial number on a firearm is not a crime in Maryland. At least for the time being. Turns out, when the laws were changed in 2003, a “clerical error” rendered the prior law invalid, making the crime not a crime at all.
According to the Washington Examiner, the Maryland Supreme Court overturned a man’s conviction after reviewing the law and finding no penalty was outlined for the offense, invalidating it as a criminal offense. The judges said in their finding, “When an individual is convicted pursuant to a charge that does not constitute a crime, that conviction must be reversed and the sentence vacated.”
The courts will likely see some appeals from this matter as those people convicted of altering serial numbers on weapons between 2003 and now would be eligible to have those sentences vacated and their convictions overturned.
Serial numbers on firearms are used to track weapons. Often, stolen guns or those used in the commission of a crime will have the numbers altered, making them impossible to trace. “It’s not like on TV where it’s easy to trace it back to the owner. This could make it more difficult for prosecutors at the state level,” said senior attorney for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence Daniel Vice.
The case that brought this flawed law to the attention of the courts was one where the defendant had been convicted on a multitude of charges. Although this one was overturned, his other convictions are still valid.
Lawmakers in the state are expected to change the law and get it back in working order by this fall. It’s also important to note that altering the numbers on a firearm remains a federal offense. Even though the state of Maryland can’t charge you with this violation, the federal government can.
Gun laws in Maryland are otherwise fairly serious. Unlawful carrying of a handgun, for instance, carries a mandatory minimum 30 day sentence and up to 3 years in prison. This is one of the least stringent gun laws in the state; a second offense of this crime has a minimum 3 years in prison.
When you are facing gun charges, the likelihood that a clerical error was made is slim to none. More than likely, you will be charged with a legally sound crime and it will be up to you and your defense attorney to contest those charges in court.
If you’ve been charged with a weapons offense in the state of Maryland, contact me today for a consultation.

Is Baltimore’s Gun Registry Unconstitutional?

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A Circuit Court judge this week ruled that the Baltimore city-wide gun registry is unconstitutional, stating it is “unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.” This doesn’t necessarily mean the registry will go away any time soon; a city spokesperson states that though they are considering all legal options, this represents only one judge’s opinion.
The gun registry was started in 2007 and was modeled after a similar one in New York City. It requires those convicted of a weapons offense within the city to register with the police department, providing their name, aliases, address, and other contact information. The registrants are required to keep this information updated twice yearly and are subject to police checking their listed residence to ensure they are actually living there.
According to the judge, the law doesn’t make the conditions of the registry clear, setting the offenders up for failure. He states that the rules aren’t just vague, they are unknown and require offenders to “go to the bowels of the Police Department to learn what constitutes the law and then instantly comply with its requirements or be found in violation of the law.”
Other opponents of the registry, including the public defender’s office, have stated they are concerned the police may use the registry to gain cooperative informants from the offenders who are listed, coercing them into helping with other cases or risk arrest for violation of the registry.
The judge himself states the registry could be implemented, but the methods didn’t give sufficient notice or information to the public. Prosecutors, on the other hand, state that offenders are repeatedly told of the rules and regulations of the registry several times throughout the criminal court process.
While the ruling won’t do away with the registry, it will impact those offenders seen in that specific courtroom. Likewise, if his colleagues agree with his rationale, other judges could apply the same standard. Challenges are likely to continue in coming months and years.
The city does what it can to reduce gun violence. Just a few weeks ago we blogged about the Mayor making a trip to Annapolis again to request tighter gun laws, including a mandatory minimum for those arrested with a loaded, illegal firearm.
If you are arrested on a gun charge in Baltimore, you will be met with some fairly strict laws and consequences. Both at the state and the local level, gun offenders are not treated lightly here. Contact our offices today for a consultation on your case and to see how we might be able to help.

Proposed Maryland Laws Would Save Money, Reduce Imprisonment

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In Maryland, like many other states across the country, corrections spending has been continuously climbing over the past few decades. On average it is fourth in state spending after only education, transportation, and Medicaid. Several proposed bills are attempting to tame this spending by making changes that would send fewer to prison.
The incarceration rate has tripled since 1980. In 2009, Maryland spent $1.4 billion on corrections. This is an alarming amount of money, something that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle would like to remedy. For that reason, many of the proposed bills were drafted by a bipartisan group.
Here’s a quick rundown of the proposed legislation to change Maryland criminal laws and charges that affect the criminal justice system:
SB 172 would give the parole commission final say on the choice to parole people serving life sentences. This was written specifically to remove the governor from the decision making process, “depoliticizing” the parole decisions. It doesn’t apply to those who were sentenced to “life without parole” and is being promoted as a worthwhile especially in cases where inmates are ill or elderly.
HB 1248 would allow parolees to reduce the time of supervision by satisfying all of the requirements of their parole. In other words, if they satisfied the conditions and followed the rules, they could be granted release from parole before the original sentence dictated.
HB 964/ SB 583 is a bill designed to establish the Recidivism Reduction Pilot Program. This program would use risk assessment tools and targeted staff training to focus effort on keeping people from reoffending. It would help probation/parole in determining who needed the greatest supervision.
SB 801/ HB 919 would change the options available to the courts and probation/parole officers when an offender violates the terms of their supervision. It would allow for incarceration for those most serious of violations and a graduated response for lesser violations.
HB 353 is designed to repeal some of the more harsh mandatory minimum sentences on drug related offenses, reestablishing judicial discretion in such cases and making more appropriate sentences available.
Finally, HB 606 would decriminalize marijuana. Less than 28.5 grams would be considered an infraction rather than a crime. This would result in a civil fine and not a court date and certainly not an arrest and unnecessary burden on the jail, courts, and taxpayers.
All of these bills are progressive pieces of legislation that wouldn’t only reduce costs; they would establish more integrity into the state criminal justice system. They are all supported by the ACLU among other prominent groups.

Violent Week in Baltimore Motivation For Tougher Gun Laws?

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This past weekend a 4 year old boy was shot and killed when he found a gun in his home; a police detective was sent to the hospital after being shot in the chest; and 16 others were victims of gun violence in Baltimore. A particularly bloody weekend left the city Police Commissioner advocating for tougher gun laws and promising more targeted enforcement.
According to the Baltimore Sun, both the Commissioner and the Mayor traveled to Annapolis to seek out tighter regulations, claiming there are simply far too many illegal guns on Baltimore streets. He argues that too many people are given fines and put back on the streets, only to get another gun and commit violent acts again.
The Department is going to be cracking down on traffic violations and loitering in problem areas though they maintain they will not be “opening the floodgates to arrests.” This cautious wording from the Commissioner, no doubt stems from a $870,000 settlement the city paid last year to the SCLU and NAACP on biased policing, after which the department rejected zero-tolerance policies or mass arrests for minor offenses.
The Commissioner states, “You can’t arrest enough of those guys, but patrolling the city indiscriminately is not the answer to this problem.”
Among the laws the Police Commissioner and Mayor would like to see passed is one that would set a mandatory minimum sentence for people arrested with an illegal and loaded firearm. That sentence would be boosted to at least 18 months and as many as 10 years. But the law is currently stalled in committee.
With the weather turning warmer, city officials expect the weekends and days in general will become more violent once again. It’s no surprise that this particularly violent past weekend was also one of record setting warmth.
Weekends like this, particularly one where a small child was killed, do sometimes spur lawmakers who wouldn’t have otherwise voted to pass more restrictive gun laws in Maryland. But, not always. The balance between public safety and personal gun ownership rights is a delicate one.
If you are facing weapons charges, contact us today. The laws surrounding such offenses are confusing and ever-changing.

Holiday DUI Checkpoints in Maryland

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Over the holidays people tend to drink alcohol a bit more freely. The police are well aware of this upswing in drunk driving incidences and often set up checkpoints or saturation points to stop DUI offenders in their tracks. In Hartford County, these checkpoints are being credited with 4 arrests over a 2 day period.

Checkpoints are set up in random areas across the state where law enforcement agencies come together to prevent drunk driving tragedies. State Troopers and local police often work together to make operations like this run as smoothly as possible.

According to the Baltimore Sun, a two day saturation patrol ended in more than 100 warnings and citations in addition to the 4 DUI arrests. They also state two arrests were made unrelated to driving while intoxicated.

With holiday parties, football, and friendly gatherings drinking seems to be more common at this time of year. Unfortunately, it seems that there is always a holiday drunk driving tragedy in the news, where an accident claims the life of someone who was traveling home for the holidays or shopping for those last few gifts.

Police and other organizations seek to minimize the occurrences of these Christmastime tragedies by taking preventative measures like the saturation points. By randomly stopping vehicles, they aren’t only taking those drunk drivers off the road, but possibly deterring others from getting behind the wheel in the first place.

But it is certainly questionable whether these is an effective use of police resources, as opposed to regular patrols. A case can be made that stopping every car looking for possible drunk drivers means there are less patrols on the road watching for seriously impaired people weaving across the road.

Regardless, if you are stopped for DUI you are facing some serious consequences. For many people, a single DUI can be a life changing experience. For others, a second and third offense with stricter penalties seems to be the wakeup call required.

No matter how many times you have been before a judge for a DUI, it will still make you nervous and add stress to your life. If you are facing DUI charges in the state of Maryland, you need the assistance of an aggressive defense attorney.

Call me now to discuss the details of your case.

Baltimore Mayor Dixon Guilty of Embezzlement The mayor faced 5 charges, was acquitted on 3, deadlocked on one, and found guilty of the last. Facing se

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The mayor faced 5 charges, was acquitted on 3, deadlocked on one, and found guilty of the last. Facing sentencing for embezzlement, the Mayor’s continued service to the city is now in question.

Many in the community and in local city government believe the Mayor should step down or be forced to leave after being convicted of this misdemeanor charge. It’s not the amount of embezzlement they are concerned about but rather the loss of trust they now have towards Dixon.

The misdemeanor conviction was for using gift cards that were purchased by Developer Patrick Turner for the “children of Baltimore.” They were a charitable donation to the city but were used by Dixon to purchase things for herself and her aides, according to the Baltimore Sun report.

The investigation in this case dates back to March 2006 and involved raids on her home and interviews with people in the Mayor’s close circle. The company that donated the gift cards in question is owned by Dixon’s former boyfriend.

Her defense team argued that Dixon believed the cards were from her boyfriend at the time, Lipscomb, and when they arrived in an unmarked envelope she had no other indication that they weren’t intended for her usage. That argument ultimately failed.

Embezzlement is considered a fraud related white collar crime and is essentially theft from your employer. Because Dixon’s employer is the city of Baltimore and the people as well, it is unclear right now what will become of her job.

As for her sentence, Dixon could face time in prison, though this is not likely. More likely, because of her clean criminal record, Dixon will be sentenced to serve some sort of probation, whether supervised or not.

Being charged with theft or any white collar crime can be humiliating and this case just goes to show it can happen to just about anyone. If you are facing criminal charges in Maryland of this nature and need help, contact me immediately.