Donaldson v. State

• Decision Date: 26 October 2010
• Docket Number: No. 83, Sept. Term, 2009.,83, Sept. Term, 2009.
• Citation: 7 A.3d 84,416 Md. 467
• Parties: Chuckie DONALDSON v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

7 A.3d 84
416 Md. 467

Chuckie DONALDSON
v.
STATE of Maryland.

No. 83, Sept. Term, 2009.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Oct. 26, 2010.

7 A.3d 87

Kellie M. Black, Assistant Public Defender (Paul B. DeWolfe, Public Defender, Baltimore), on brief, for petitioner.

Brian S. Kleinbord, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Douglas F. Gansler, Atty. Gen. of Maryland, Baltimore), on brief, for respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J., HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, MURPHY, BARBERA, and ADKINS, JJ.

GREENE, J.

416 Md. 473

This case involves two distinct issues, both of which require highly fact-specific inquiries. First, we have been asked to determine whether there was probable cause to arrest the petitioner, Chuckie Donaldson ("Petitioner"). To make this determination, we must look at the facts of the arrest and determine whether the totality of the circumstances supported the suppression court's judgment that there was probable cause. The arresting officer testified that he saw Petitioner go with a group of people into a corner in an alley in an area where drug dealing was known to take place. The officer said that he saw Petitioner pull a plastic bag from the rear of his pants, take small white objects from the bag, and exchange the objects for money. The officer also said that, based on his experience and training, he believed that this was a drug transaction. Based on the record before us, we shall affirm the trial court's judgment that there was probable cause to arrest Petitioner.

Second, we have been asked to determine whether two statements made by the prosecutor during closing arguments were improper and require a reversal of Petitioner's

7 A.3d 88

conviction. For this determination, we must look at the allegedly improper statements to determine whether they were improper and, if so, whether we are persuaded, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the cumulative effect of these statements did not prejudice Petitioner. In the first statement, the prosecutor argued that the jury should believe the police officers who testified against Petitioner because "[t]hey want to keep their job" and because "what gets them to keep their job" is "their credibility and their integrity." In the second statement, the prosecutor stated that drug dealers are "the root of all evil" and that Petitioner was "the problem." We shall conclude

416 Md. 474

that both of these statements were improper, and we cannot say that the cumulative effect of these statements did not prejudice Petitioner. Accordingly, we shall reverse Petitioner's conviction and remand the case for a new trial.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case originated in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Petitioner was arrested on December 18, 2006, and was charged with distribution of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and simple possession of cocaine. Petitioner subsequently requested suppression of the items seized during his arrest, arguing that there had been no probable cause for the arrest. Following a suppression hearing, the trial court denied Petitioner's motion. A jury trial was held, and, at the end of the trial, Petitioner was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and acquitted of distribution of heroin.¹ The trial judge subsequently sentenced Petitioner to a prison term of 12 years.

Petitioner entered a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals. On May 20, 2009, the intermediate appellate court filed an unreported opinion affirming the judgment of the trial court. Donaldson v. State, No. 1739 (Md.Ct.Spec.App.2009). Petitioner then submitted a petition for certiorari to this Court, and we granted the petition. Donaldson v. State, 410 Md. 165, 978 A.2d 245 (2009).

FACTS

Petitioner was arrested in Baltimore City. As a result of a search of Petitioner's person, the police seized fourteen small, white capsules filled with a white powder. A suppression hearing and trial followed.

Suppression Hearing

Petitioner requested suppression of the items seized as a result of his arrest; thus, a suppression hearing was held on

416 Md. 475

September 10, 2007. At the suppression hearing, the State presented the testimony of Detective Troy Taylor ("Taylor"). Taylor first testified to his 12 years of experience as a police officer, his ongoing narcotics training, the hundreds of narcotics-related arrests he had made, his familiarity with the packaging and sale of narcotics in Baltimore City, and his observation of over a thousand narcotics transactions in Baltimore City. He also explained that he had previously testified as an expert on the sale, identification, use, and distribution of controlled dangerous substances ("CDS") in state and federal courts. Based on this testimony, the Court accepted Taylor as an expert on the street level distribution of heroin.

Detective Taylor then testified about the events leading up to Petitioner's arrest. He explained that he and Detective John Rice ("Rice") were sitting in an unmarked vehicle on the 1800 block of West Lombard Street in Baltimore City, and Taylor was

7 A.3d 89

monitoring the area with binoculars. From approximately half a block away, Taylor saw Petitioner and four other people walk to a corner near an alley on the 100 block of Addison Street. Taylor was not acquainted with Petitioner. Taylor then saw Petitioner reach into the "rear of his pants" to retrieve a clear plastic bag containing several small, white objects. Petitioner removed some of the objects from the bag, and two people in the group handed Petitioner money in exchange for the objects. After the four people walked away, Petitioner returned the plastic bag to the rear of his pants.

Taylor testified that based on his training and experience, he believed he had just witnessed the sale of narcotics. When asked on cross-examination whether the white objects may have been candy, Taylor testified:

That would be a weird way to keep your candy to sell on the street. In the rear of your pants. If you conceal something in that way, you are concealing something that is illegal, most of the time. From my training, expertise and observation of hundreds of arrests of the same character.

Taylor then testified that, upon seeing this transaction, he drove towards Petitioner. Taylor and Rice then exited the

416 Md. 476

car, told Petitioner to stop, and told Petitioner that he was under arrest. Petitioner complied with Taylor's order, and Taylor arrested him. Neither Taylor nor Rice attempted to arrest the other individuals they had seen walking with Petitioner, including the individuals who had apparently purchased items from Petitioner. During the arrest, Taylor asked Petitioner if he wanted Taylor to get the plastic bag out of Petitioner's pants or if Petitioner would get it himself. Taylor retrieved a pair of latex gloves from the trunk of his car and put them on, after which Petitioner pulled the plastic bag from the rear of his pants and gave it to Taylor. The bag contained 14 gelatin capsules filled with a white powder. Taylor suspected that the powder was heroin.

Finally, on cross-examination, Taylor explained his understanding of the drug activity in the area of Petitioner's arrest. Taylor stated that he had worked in that area for 12 years, and he recalled in his testimony that he thought he had made an arrest there earlier on the day of Petitioner's arrest. He also stated that as of the date of his testimony, in September of 2007, "[n]obody's dealing in the block" because drug activity in the "block has since been shut down" and had been shut down "[f]or the last eight, nine, ten months."

Trial

Petitioner's trial took place on September 18, 2007. Detective Taylor was the State's first witness, and his testimony at trial was consistent with his testimony at the suppression hearing. Taylor again testified to his experience and training with CDS and was accepted as an expert on the sale, use, identification, and distribution of CDS, especially heroin. He also testified to the events leading up to Petitioner's arrest. On cross-examination, Taylor was asked why he did not arrest, or attempt to arrest, any of Petitioner's companions. Taylor explained that he did call for an arrest team to detain the buyers, but no officers responded to the call. As Taylor had not mentioned this fact in his statement of probable cause, counsel for Petitioner asked him if it was true that there was "no proof that they exist, these people who bought drugs from

416 Md. 477

[Petitioner]." Taylor responded that there was the "[p]roof that I am testifying to." Taylor also explained:

It's more essential for me to get someone who is selling drugs. I think that's

7 A.3d 90

more of the problem than the person that's buying drugs. The person that's buying drugs needs help. The person selling drugs is the person that's the root of the evil as I put it because if they weren't there, the person wouldn't be there buying the drugs.

(Emphasis added.).

In addition to Taylor, Detective Rice and a Baltimore City Police Department chemist testified. Like Taylor, Rice was accepted as an expert in the sale, identification, use, and distribution of CDS, specifically heroin. He also testified about the events leading up to Petitioner's arrest. Detective Rice's testimony was consistent with Taylor's testimony. The chemist was accepted as an expert in the area of chemical analysis of CDS. She testified that she tested 10 of the capsules seized during Petitioner's arrest and concluded that the capsules contained heroin. The State's physical evidence at trial consisted of a map of the area where Petitioner was arrested, the 14 capsules that Taylor recovered from Petitioner during the arrest, a photograph of the plastic bag that contained the capsules, with the capsules inside, and the chemist's analysis of the powder inside the capsules, which she herself had tested. Petitioner rested without presenting any evidence.

At the end of the trial, counsel for both the State and Petitioner presented closing statements, portions of which...