McRavin v. State
| Decision Date | 22 March 2023 |
| Docket Number | 1633-2021 |
| Parties | JIMMY McRAVIN v. STATE OF MARYLAND |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Baltimore City Case Nos. 119322015 & 119322016
Reed Albright, Getty, Joseph M. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Jimmy McRavin, Appellant, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter,[1] use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence,[2] and possession of a regulated firearm after having been convicted of a disqualifying crime.[3] The circuit court sentenced Mr. McRavin to 38 years in prison. Here, Mr. McRavin challenges five circuit court rulings-four of which pertain to jury instructions and the fifth to the circuit court's denial of his speedy trial motion. In so doing, Mr. McRavin argues that (1) with respect to his speedy trial rights, the circuit court should have dismissed the case because the delay between his arrest and trial prejudiced his ability to investigate, and (2) sufficient evidence was generated to support certain requested jury instructions and was not generated to support others.
Mr. McRavin presents five questions for our review, which we have reordered:
For the reasons we explain below, we answer "no" to all Mr. McRavin's questions and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
On October 12, 2019, Mr. McRavin pointed his father's gun at James Thompson and shot him five times in broad daylight: twice in the back of the head, twice in the back left upper arm, and once in the left lower back. None of the shots Mr. McRavin fired were at close range. The two gunshot wounds to the back of Mr. Thompson's head are what killed him.
Earlier that day, Mr. McRavin was at his home in Baltimore, Maryland with his mother, Deborah McRavin, his child's mother, Shawnta Davis, and his then 5-month-old baby. Mr. McRavin got into a heated argument with Ms. Davis because Ms. Davis saw Mr. McRavin smoking a cigarette while holding the baby, and she tried to get the cigarette out of his hand. Mr. McRavin put his hands on her, choked her, "stomped" on her, and kicked her. Ms. Davis appeared to have suffered injuries to her face and left eye. Mr. McRavin exited the home and stood on the porch. At some point, Ms. Davis called 911 to report Mr. McRavin's attack. Ms. Davis also called her cousin, Mr. Thompson, "want[ing] him to come to the house and take care of [Mr. McRavin]," a request overheard only by Ms. McRavin. Ms. McRavin then went outside and stood on the porch with Mr. McRavin for about 10 minutes. She offered him her late husband's gun and told Mr. McRavin that Mr. Thompson was coming to the home. Ms. McRavin also advised Mr. McRavin to leave. Instead, Mr. McRavin took the gun, put it in his pocket, and remained on the porch.
Mr. Thompson did not arrive until at least one hour after Ms. McRavin gave Mr. McRavin the gun. Mr. McRavin then shot Mr. Thompson and fled the scene, leaving Mr. Thompson on the ground.[4] Police and Emergency Medical Services personnel ("EMS") arrived and transported Mr. Thompson to the hospital where he later died. Shell casings, Mr. Thompson's clothing, a pocketknife, and video surveillance footage[5] were recovered at the scene.
On October 23, 2019, Mr. McRavin was arrested for the murder of Mr. Thompson. On November 18, 2019, Mr. McRavin was charged with first-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and possession of a regulated firearm after having been convicted of a disqualifying crime.
Mr. McRavin was supposed to be tried on April 2, 2020. Mr. McRavin asserted his right to a speedy trial in an omnibus motion filed with his counsel's appearance on January 7, 2020. Leading up to the trial date, COVID-19 was spreading fast. By midJanuary of 2020, there were 282 confirmed cases worldwide, with the United States having its first confirmed case in Washington State.[6] CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline (hereinafter "COVID-19 Timeline"). By mid-March of 2020, COVID-19 spread to 114 countries, claiming the lives of over 4,200 people and infecting over 118,000 more. Id. Some states, including Maryland, [7] began to issue stay-at-home orders to limit exposure. Id. On March 12, 2020, then-Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera ("Chief Judge Barbera") of the Court of Appeals of Maryland (now the Supreme Court of Maryland) [8] issued her first Administrative Order concerning COVID-19, pausing "[a]ll civil and criminal jury trials in the Circuit Courts throughout the state of Maryland scheduled to begin on March 16, 2020, through April 3, 2020[.]" C.J. Barbera, Admin. Order, March 12, 2020, at 1. Confirmed cases skyrocketed to 500,000 and deaths to over 18,600 in a few short months. COVID-19 Timeline.
In a General Order dated March 25, 2020, the circuit court ordered that "all misdemeanor and felony cases set for pretrial conferences, initial appearances, or for trial are [] postponed," and found good cause for the postponements. On April 2, 2020, the circuit court scheduled Mr. McRavin's trial for July 27, 2020.
About two months later, Chief Judge Barbera ordered all circuit court criminal jury trials "scheduled to begin on or after March 16, 2020 . . . to resume, with trial dates to be scheduled beginning on October 5, 2020, and thereafter[.]"[9] C.J. Barbera, Admin. Order, May 22, 2020, at 2. Consequently, the circuit court rescheduled Mr. McRavin's trial for December 15, 2020.
On November 12, 2020, however, due to a significant uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland and nationwide, Chief Judge Barbera re-imposed a civil and criminal jury trial suspension and ordered a rescheduling of trial dates. C.J. Barbera, Admin. Order, Nov. 12, 2020, at 1-2. Among other things, criminal trials without empaneled juries scheduled from November 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020 were suspended and rescheduled for as early as January 4, 2021. Id. Just days before that Order, the United States had reported 100,000 new COVID-19 cases in just 24 hours. COVID-19 Timeline.
The infection rate continued to surge as Thanksgiving neared, prompting the CDC to urge Americans to limit their contact with those outside of their household. COVID-19 Timeline. On November 20, 2020, over 11 million Americans were infected with COVID-19. Id. Once again, to mitigate exposure to COVID-19, Chief Judge Barbera's November 24, 2020 Administrative Order continued to pause criminal jury trials without empaneled juries pending from November 16, 2020 to February 12, 2021 and rescheduled them starting the beginning of February 16, 2021. C.J. Barbera, Admin. Order, November 24, 2020, at 2. To comply, the circuit court rescheduled Mr. McRavin's trial to April 6, 2021.
Because of the increase in COVID-19 cases, Chief Judge Barbera issued four more Administrative Orders, postponing criminal jury trials until at least April 26, 2021. C.J. Barbera, Admin. Orders, December 22, 2020, at 2; February 2, 2021, at 2; February 16, 2021, at 2-3; May 24, 2021, at 2-3 ().
Shortly thereafter, counsel contacted the circuit court to receive a trial date for Mr. McRavin. The trial was then specially set for November 10, 2021.
Before trial, on October 21, 2021, Mr. McRavin moved to dismiss his case, arguing that his speedy trial rights were denied. A motion hearing was subsequently held on November 10, 2021. Analyzing the Barker factors,[10] Mr. McRavin contended that the court violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial because he suffered "presumed and actual prejudice as a result of the inordinate delay in bringing his case to trial." Consequently, Mr. McRavin argued the case should be dismissed.[11]
According to Mr. McRavin, all Barker factors weighed in his favor. The Barker factors are the length of delay the reason for the delay, the defendant's assertion of his right, and prejudice to the defendant. Barker v. Wingo, 417 U.S. 514, 530 (1972). As to the length of delay, Mr. McRavin contended that the delay was presumptively prejudicial because his trial was "2 years and 18 days from the day of arrest and 1 year and 10 months and 3 days from the day of indictment," triggering further inquiry. As to the reason for the delay, although conceding that COVID-19 was the reason for all trial postponements, Mr. McRavin noted that jury trials resumed on April 26, 2021, but the court chose not to restart trials requiring larger jury pools until later that year. As to Mr. McRavin's assertion of his speedy trial right, Mr. McRavin maintained that he asserted his right in the omnibus motion on January 7, 2020 and had not waived it. As to prejudice, Mr. McRavin reiterated that prejudice was presumed because of the lapse of time between his arrest and trial date. Additionally, he argued he was unable to interview...
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