Blog: Criminal Defense
- How to Stay Out of Trouble in Ocean City
Apr 23, 2019
Ocean City comes alive in the summer months as one of the premier vacation spots for families, college kids, couples, partygoers, and more. Thousands of students and adults find themselves letting loose with copious amounts of alcohol, lowering inhibitions and creating opportunities for chaos. Once tourist season opens and the first Spring Break revelers make their way through the town, law enforcement go on high alert and significantly increase the number of arrests. Don’t let...Read More - What is a bench warrant?
Feb 5, 2019
The Maryland Judiciary has warned residents in Baltimore and the surrounding counties about a telephone scam that has been making the rounds involving Baltimore bench warrants. The caller tries to extort money from victims, telling them they will be arrested for failing to appear in court. The caller claims to be with the local sheriff’s office and tells the victim that a judge has issued a bench warrant because the person failed to appear...Read More - Lawsuits Over Background Checks Show Need for Expungement of Criminal Records
Dec 6, 2018
Recent lawsuits by workers fired after employer background checks, that in some instances revealed charges that were many years old or inaccurate, show how important it is to get criminal records in Maryland expunged. In one instance, a group of Amazon drivers have sued the e-commerce giant because they were fired when a strict background check discovered criminal charges that, some say, are minor and 10 years old. The criminal justice reform bill signed...Read More - Court Throws Out Evidence Resulting from Police Officer Leaning into Open Car Window
Nov 23, 2018
Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals recently threw out evidence obtained after a Baltimore City police officer leaned into an open car window after a traffic stop. The court said the evidence obtained after the officer leaned into the car and picked up a pill bottle should have been suppressed and ordered a new trial as to some of the charges made against a Baltimore driver. While on patrol in an unmarked vehicle, two Baltimore...Read More - Appeals Court Rejects Army Vet’s Attempt to Stay off Maryland Sex Offender Registry
Sep 17, 2018
A Maryland appeals court recently rejected an attempt by an Army veteran to avoid registering with the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. The man, a sergeant in the United States Army, was convicted under military law of two counts of abusive sexual contact involving a 17-year-old girl while he was stationed in Texas. He was ordered to a reduction in grade, confinement and forfeiture of all pay and allowances for five months. Upon his release,...Read More - Credit Card Fraud
Sep 10, 2018
What is the Penalty for Credit Card Fraud in Maryland? A Baltimore woman has been sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for crimes that stem from her use of counterfeit credit cards. According to her plea, from the winter of 2012 to July 2014, the woman and others created counterfeit credit cards, using stolen or otherwise compromised credit and debit card numbers belonging to others. They...Read More - Smell of Marijuana Provides Probable Cause to Arrest, Maryland Court Says
Jul 9, 2018
Even though possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana is not a crime in Maryland, police officers have probable cause to arrest for marijuana possession if they smell the drug on a person, Maryland’s intermediate appellate court has ruled. “We hold, consistent with authority in other jurisdictions, that the odor of marijuana, if localized to a particular person, provides probable cause to arrest that person for the crime of possession of marijuana. Here,...Read More - Assault on a Police Officer
Jun 27, 2018
After an altercation at the beach, a woman was recently charged with assault on a police officer. Two Baltimore County men were arrested following an assault on police officer, according to police reports. Police reported the two men had pulled guns but then dropped them and fled the scene. Assault on a police officer in Maryland is different from the assault charge found in Maryland law. Assault on a police officer has the same...Read More - How a criminal record may affect your future
Apr 24, 2017
If you have been charged with a crime, it is not just your immediate freedom that you should worry about. From school to employment to loans, there are many reasons you should be concerned about a criminal record. Currently, there are 44,000 What shows up on a criminal record that affects your chances for getting a job? If you apply for a job and you have a criminal record, your potential employer...Read More - Firearm theft in Maryland
Apr 20, 2017
With several high-profile gun robberies in the news recently, many Maryland residents may not be surprised to learn Fox News reports that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) found ATF officials stated that Maryland has had the fourth-most burglaries of gun shops in the nation. In 2016 alone the Old Line State saw 38 instances of federally licensed firearm dealers having their shops broken into and guns stolen, and there are...Read More