State v. Smith
Decision Date | 30 January 2020 |
Docket Number | No. 2094,2094 |
Parties | STATE OF MARYLAND v. KARL SMITH |
Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — PLEA AGREEMENTS — MOTIONS FOR JUDGMENTS OF ACQUITTAL
A trial court has no authority to grant a motion for judgment of acquittal during a pretrial hearing convened to decide whether to approve a plea agreement in a criminal case. If the court finds that a factual basis for the plea is lacking or otherwise finds the plea agreement deficient, then its options are as specified in Rules 4-242 and 4-243.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — COMMON LAW — DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Double jeopardy principles do not bar the State from appealing a nominal judgment of acquittal when the trial court that entered that judgment was totally without authority to act. In substance, such a judgment is a dismissal, not an acquittal.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — APPEALS BY THE STATE — STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION
Under § 12-302(c) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, the State may appeal from a nominal acquittal that is, in substance, a dismissal and that was entered in circumstances where the trial court was totally without authority to act.
Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Case No. 818151003
REPORTED
Opinion by Fader, C.J.
We must decide whether the State, the appellant here, has the right to seek appellate review of judgments resolving criminal charges in favor of the appellee, Karl Smith. The answer depends on our resolution of interrelated questions: (1) Were the circuit court's judgments, in substance, a dismissal of charges or judgments of acquittal? (2) If judgments of acquittal, did they implicate Maryland's common law double jeopardy protections?1 and (3) If not, does the State have a statutory right to appeal?
The State charged Mr. Smith with several offenses related to his illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition in his vehicle. The State and Mr. Smith appeared before the Circuit Court for Baltimore City to present a guilty plea agreement for the court's approval. After the circuit court indicated its preliminary acceptance of the guilty plea, the prosecutor recited a statement of facts in support of the plea, to which Mr. Smith agreed. The circuit court then asked whether the State possessed a particular piece of evidence, an operability report for the firearm.2 When the prosecutor failed to respond, Mr. Smith's counsel"ma[d]e a motion," which the court granted, saying, "Case is dismissed." The docket reflects that the court granted a motion for judgment of acquittal as to all charges.
The State and Mr. Smith disagree regarding whether the court's judgments were a dismissal or an acquittal of the charges. Whichever it was has no effect on the merits of the judgments because, as we will explain, the circuit court had authority neither to acquit Mr. Smith at that time nor to dismiss charges based on the State's inability to present an operability report during a pretrial guilty plea hearing. Whether that order was a dismissal of charges or acquittals does, however, affect whether we may correct the error. That is both because (1) an acquittal based on a review of evidentiary sufficiency potentially implicates Maryland's common law protections against double jeopardy, see, e.g., Scott v. State, 454 Md. 146, 152 (2017) (), and (2) the State has a statutory right to appeal a dismissal of charges under § 12-302(c)(2) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article (2013 Repl.; 2019 Supp.), but no statutory right to appeal from judgments of acquittal.
To characterize properly the circuit court's action, we must examine the Court of Appeals's double jeopardy jurisprudence, particularly regarding the effect of unauthorized acquittals. As we will explain, under Johnson v. State, 452 Md. 702, 735 (2017), the circuit court's judgments here do not implicate double jeopardy, both because the judgments were not acquittals in substance and because they were entered at a time when the circuit court was "totally without authority to act." Extending Johnson, we hold that a trial court's judgment that functions as a dismissal for double jeopardy purposes also functions as a dismissal for statutory appealability purposes. As a result, we will deny Mr. Smith'smotion to dismiss the State's appeal, reverse the circuit court's judgments, and remand for further proceedings.
On June 21, 2018, Mr. Smith appeared before the circuit court facing several charges relating to the possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the beginning of the hearing, Mr. Smith's attorney advised the court that the State had extended a plea deal of "three years, suspend all but time served, and two years probation" in exchange for a guilty plea to one count of wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in a vehicle in violation of § 4-203(a)(1)(ii) of the Criminal Law Article (2012 Repl.). After questioning Mr. Smith about his age, education, and ability to read and write, and confirming that he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, defense counsel advised Mr. Smith of the rights he would be giving up by choosing to plead guilty, including the right to trial by a court or a jury, the right to call witnesses, the right to cross-examination, the right to remain silent, and full appeal rights. Mr. Smith confirmed that he understood. The circuit court then found that Mr. Smith was "tendering [his] guilty plea freely, knowingly and voluntarily," and stated: "I accept your plea of guilty."
At the court's request, the prosecutor then provided the following statement of facts in support of the guilty plea:
After the prosecutor finished reading that statement, the following exchange occurred:
The clerk docketed Mr. Smith's motion as a motion for judgment of acquittal, granted by the circuit court as to all charges. This appeal followed.
Where appealability is at issue, we ordinarily would not begin our analysis with a discussion of the merits of the challenge. Here, however, the merits are inextricably intertwined with the appealability issue itself. In Part I, we review general principles governing guilty plea deals, dismissals, and acquittals in criminal cases. In Part II, we consider Mr. Smith's motion to dismiss, asking separately whether the circuit court's judgments preclude the State's appeal on double jeopardy grounds and whether the State has a statutory right of appeal. In Part III, we return to the merits.
"A guilty plea 'is an admission of conduct...
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