D – Criminal Trials

Criminal Trials

Criminal laws come from state common law, state statutes, and federal statutes.  Both state and federal crimes are divided into more serious offenses, known as felonies, and less serious offenses, known as misdemeanors.  In the state criminal justice system, most criminal misdemeanors are tried in the District Court of Maryland and most felonies are tried in Circuit Court. There is one Circuit Court in the county seat of each of the 24 political subdivisions in Maryland.  Moving traffic violations are criminal misdemeanors.  In the federal criminal justice system, cases are tried in one of 94 federal District Courts.  Maryland is a one-federal-district state, i.e., the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.  Its Northern Division is located in Baltimore City and its Southern Division is located in Greenbelt in Prince George’s County.

The law considers some individuals too young to be criminals.  Depending on the crime, individuals become adults – and thus eligible to be convicted of a crime – at age 18, age 16, or age 14.  A juvenile who is too young to be convicted of a crime may be found to be delinquent in a juvenile delinquency proceeding in Circuit Court, when that court is sitting as a Juvenile Court.

In the District Court of Maryland, cases are tried on a document called a criminal information, which is prepared by a prosecutor, a statement of charges, which is prepared by a police officer, or a citation, which is prepared by a police officer.  In Circuit Court, cases are tried on a document called a criminal information, which is prepared by a prosecutor, or an indictment, which is prepared by a prosecutor and issued by a grand jury.  In Juvenile Court, delinquency proceedings are tried on a document called a Juvenile Petition.  In the United States District Court, cases are tried on the same documents as the Circuit Court.

In the District Court of Maryland, all trials are non-jury trials with the judge serving as both the judge and jury.  In the Circuit Court, the defendant elects whether to be tried by a judge or a jury. In the juvenile justice system, there are no jury trials.  Juvenile matters may be handled informally by a juvenile hearing officer, or adjudicated in Juvenile Court by either a Juvenile Master or a Circuit Court sitting as the Juvenile Court.  In the United States District Court, typically non-jury misdemeanor cases are tried by a United States Magistrate Judge, and jury trial misdemeanors and all felonies (jury trials or court trials) are tried by a United States District Judge.

The Firm’s Criminal Trial Practice

The Firm represents clients in criminal trials in the District Court of Maryland, the Circuit Courts throughout Maryland, and in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.  Cases include misdemeanors and felonies, based on a citation, statement of charges, criminal information, grand jury indictment, or juvenile petition.

Whether the case is a DUI/DWI case or a first degree murder case, the Firm’s attorneys are just as zealous in advocating on behalf of their clients.  Frequently, we simply wear the prosecution down until they negotiate a plea with terms that are favorable to their clients.  When we cannot negotiate a result that is favorable to our clients, we go “toe-to-toe” with the prosecution.

Criminal Cases We Handle

  • DUI’s / DUI / DWI

  • Murder

  • Assault, Rape, Robbery, Arson

  • Drug Charges – Possession, Distribution, Conspiracy

  • Weapons Charges

  • White Collar Crimes – Fraud, Conspiracy, Embezzlement

  • All Maryland Courts
  • Federal Courts
  • Baltimore City Courts
  • Baltimore County Courts
  • Frederick County Courts
  • All Other Maryland Counties – Howard, Carroll, Harford, Wicomico, Worchester, Talbot, Prince George’s, Montgomery, Western Maryland, Eastern Shore
  • Cities Throughout Maryland – Baltimore, Towson, Frederick, Cockeysville, Hunt Valley, Upper Marlboro, Easton, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Columbia, Silver Spring, Annapolis, Arbutus, Catonsville, Bel Air, and many more

The Firm’s longstanding reputation as one of the top appellate law firms in town gives us a unique ability to not just practice facts, or make a good presentation to the jury, but to also thoroughly understand the law behind all aspects of trial.

SUCCESS SPOTLIGHT

In Federal Court in Baltimore, Warnken, LLC represented one of 39 defendants on counts of bribery, conspiracy, immigration fraud, and green card fraud.  The other 38 defendants went to federal prison.  Our client received home detention.

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In the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, the Firm represented a client in a first degree murder case.  Prior to this Firm’s involvement in the case, the defendant (1) had been convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, and (2) had lost on appeal in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.  The Firm succeeded (7-0) in having the first degree murder conviction overturned in the Court of Appeals of Maryland. The State then elected to re-prosecute the defendant, and the defendant retained the Firm to represent him at the re-trial.  When we were unable to negotiate a favorable result for our client, we tried the case – for 16 days.  The Baltimore Sun reported that when the jury handed down a “not guilty” verdict on first degree murder, the prosecutor broke down and cried in the courtroom.

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Similarly, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, the Firm represented a client in an attempted first degree murder case.  Prior to this Firm’s involvement in the case, the defendant had been convicted of attempted first degree murder and a variety of other crimes against three persons. We handled the appeal in the Court of Special Appeals and lost, but were successful in having the Court of Appeals take the case on a grant of a Writ of Certiorari. The Court of Appeals reversed all of the convictions.  The State then elected to re-prosecute the defendant, and the defendant retained the Firm to represent him at the re-trial.  When we were unable to negotiate a favorable result for our client, we tried the case and won a not-guilty on all counts.

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In the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, the Firm represented a client facing 40 years – 20 years each for rape and sexual offense.  By interviewing witnesses and examining DNA results, we persuaded the State that its case was weak.  The State dropped all the felony counts in return for a plea to lesser offense, which was a misdemeanor with a one-year maximum sentence.  We negotiated an Alford plea so that we could argue innocence at sentencing.  We persuaded the trial judge to give our client a PBJ.

WHAT WE DO

(1)        take specific investigative steps, e.g., interviewing individuals, obtaining documents, reviewing evidence (perhaps hiring a private investigator);

(2)        negotiating with the prosecution;

(3)        filing pretrial motions, including the all permitted discovery; and

(4)        taking procedural steps, e.g., seeking a continuance, jury trial, or change of venue.

(5)        attempt to persuade the prosecutor to drop some or all of the charges,

(6)        attempt to enter a favorable plea agreement, or

(7)        attempt to obtain a favorable result at trial.

If you are seeking representation, please call us at 443-921-1100 or email us now.