A Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the NAACP in their effort to obtain racial profiling data from the state police’s internal investigations reports. Previously, the state police had denied requests, stating the information within should be protected as personnel files. The Court saw otherwise. [Read more…]
Baltimore Officers Suspended, Charged With Corruption
Thirty-one police officers from the city of Baltimore are under suspension and 17 are facing criminal charges for a allegedly taking kick-backs from a towing company. The charges involve officers sending auto accident victims to the Majestic Auto Repair Shop against procedural rules and Majestic, in turn, paying the officers for their business.
According to the Associated Press, the city may have been tipped off that something was awry by the arrest of a competitor in the towing business. The owner of Frankford Towing was arrested in 2009 when she approached an officer at an accident scene after seeing a Majestic tow truck present. She told him Majestic wasn’t city-authorized. The officer told her to leave and then arrested her. She subsequently filed a complaint.
In Baltimore, when a cop responds to an accident, he is to allow the accident victims to arrange for their own towing or call one of the city-authorized towing companies. Instead, the officers are accused of telling owners that Majestic would waive deductibles and help with the insurance claims. In return for their business, the officers would receive about $300 for each vehicle sent to Majestic.
Officers also told citizens not to contact their insurance companies prior to speaking with the shop workers at Majestic. One officer is said to have received $14,000 over a two year period.
While the police union will provide an attorney in cases where officers are accused of a misdemeanor, the same isn’t true for felony charges like fraud. The Associated Press reports the officers in question will have to appeal to the union’s board if they want representation in this particular case.
Both members of the towing industry and police officials are worried about reputations being damaged. The Police Union President cautions the public that this group of officers represents only a small portion of the 2,800 member force. The woman who complained after being arrested hopes the case doesn’t paint her and other upstanding tow companies in a negative light as well.
When you are in an accident or really whenever you have an opportunity to deal with the police, you want to believe they are going to act with integrity. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Baltimore has been a hotspot for allegations of police misconduct in recent decades and this means the opportunity always exists that you will run into one of the “bad apples” of the force.
When you are facing criminal charges, part of the job of your defense attorney is to ensure you are treated with respect to your rights. If a police officer crosses a line during your search or arrest, there may be the opportunity for your attorney to motion for a complete dismissal of all charges.
If you are facing any criminal charges, contact our offices today to discuss your options.
Baltimore Settles Civil Cases of Wrongful Arrests
A little over a decade ago, a new mayor took office in Baltimore and ordered the police to crack down, to take a “zero tolerance” approach to crime. In particular neighborhoods and high crime areas, they were told to make arrests on charges as minor as littering. This approach, however, may have led to many unlawful arrests, a fact not lost on the city who has recently settled a handful of lawsuits.
In the first few years following the new policies, crime reportedly dropped. Supporters of those policies state they deterred criminals by placing them in fear of immediate arrest. But, within 5 years crime began to rise again; arrests were up; and charges were being dropped left and right.
According to the Baltimore Sun, arrests in the city reached an all time high in 2005 at 108,000 or one for every six people. Since then, the arrest rate has dropped by more than 30,000. Law enforcement is focusing on smart arrests rather than quantity and the courts are seeing fewer cases dropped.
The lawsuits involving wrongful arrests include things as little as a loitering arrest for sitting on the stops of an aunt’s home and a littering charge for dropping a candy wrapper in the street. These two cases resulted in two arrests of the same 18 year old within the span of one month.
Along with money agreed on in the settlement, law enforcement will be adopting some new policies. Officers will be retrained to avoid wrongful arrests and supervisors will review what are called “quality of life” arrests.
Police must balance public safety with common sense and can never infringe on citizen’s Constitutional rights. This is true from the moment they begin questioning you until you are in jail and in front of the court. Everything from how you are questioned to how you are searched and detained must be done according to procedures designed to protect your rights.
Sometimes if the police run afoul of these procedures an entire criminal case can be thrown out. Whether your arrest was unjustified or the evidence against you was seized illegally, these things sometimes erroneously referred to as “technicalities” are designed to keep integrity within the system.
A defense attorney is there to ensure your rights are protected. Contact me today to discuss the details of your case. We can talk about your arrest and any other aspects that may be concerning you.
Insurance Fraud Penalties Issued to Maryland Man
A former officer for the Maryland Transit Association was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in an insurance fraud scheme. He destroyed his SUV and that of some friends in order to get out from under the loan payments due to tight financial conditions.
Often criminal fraud charges in Maryland result from desperate financial situations and momentary panic. If you committed an act of fraud , exercising bad judgment in a weak or stupid moment, we understand how this can happen. You do need to face that these charges are serious.
But that doesn’t mean you deserve the maximum penalty allowed by law for a stupid mistake. Please contact us to find out how we can help you work out a reasonable deal, and get on with your life.
Everyone deserves a second chance, and fair treatment under the law. But you will not be treated fairly without an attorney on your side to protect you.
Proposals to Increase DNA Database
The Maryland House of Delegates is proposing a new DNA collection law pushed by Governor O’Malley. Under the proposed law, Maryland police and law enforcement agencies would routinely collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a criminal charge in Maryland. The result would be an expanded database of DNA from which to search in future cases, but civil libertarians argue that it is a violation of the rights of a person who has not been convicted of a crime.
Similar laws are in place in 12 states, including Virginia, and are being actively considered in 22 other states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Members of the Maryland legislatures Black Caucus are against the proposal, saying that it unfairly targets African-Americans, who are arrested at a much higher rate than whites. Supporters of the bill suggest that it is no more of a violation than collecting fingerprint samples during the booking process, but DNA is arguably much more personal, and contains sensitive and detailed information about a person’s medical history and background.
Maryland State Senate Increases Fines for Giving Alcohol to Minors
The Maryland State Senate approved a measure to increase fines for adults providing alcohol to minors, but rejected the House proposal that would have made doing so a misdemeanor criminal charge.
If the proposal becomes law, maximum civil penalties will increase from $1000 to $2500 for a first offense act of providing alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age of 21, and fines for 2nd or subsequent offenses will rise from $1500 to $5000.
Keeping the offense as a civil penalty was controversial, as lawmakers were clearly torn by the difficulties in balancing the dangers of alcohol use by minors with the practical realities of enforcement and prosecution. One factor in stopping the criminal enhancement was that the criminal charge of “Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor” is still an option for prosecution of serious cases.
Surprising Maryland Criminal Offenses
You can be charged with a crime in Maryland if you purchase more than 2 packs of cigarettes from out of state and transport them home, as a Maryland resident, according to this report.
Cigarettes are much cheaper in Virginia and North Carolina, due to the fact that the average tax is $2 per pack here, while it is only about $1.20 in Virginia. So even if you literally walk across the border, and bring back 3 packs of cigarettes, you are a criminal.