R E P O R T E D

I N T H E C O U R T O F S P E C I A L A P P E A L S

O F M A R Y L A N D

N o

. 3 2 5

S e p t e m b e r T e r m , 2 0 1 3

C O R Y E A D O M I N I Q U E W E B S T E R

v

.

S T A T E O F M A R Y L A N D

B e r g e r , A r t h u r , K e n n e y , J a m e s A

. , I I I

, ( R e t i r e d

, S p e c i a l l y A s s i g n e d )

J J

.

O p i n i o n b y K e n n e y , J

.

F i l e d : J a n u a r y 2 8

, 2 0 1 5A p p ellan t, C o ry ea D o m in iq u e Web ster, w as ch arg ed in th e C ircu i t C o u rt f o r

F red erick C o u n ty w ith p o ssessio n w ith in ten t to d istrib u te co cain e, p o ssessio n o f co cain e,

p o ssessio n o f m arij u a n a , p o s sessio n o f M D M A

, p o ssessio n o f d ru g p arap h ern alia,

p o ssessio n o f a rif

le b y a p erso n w ith a d isq u alif y in g o f f en se, p o ssessio n o f a f

irearm in

co n n ectio n w ith a d ru g traf f ick in g o f f en se, an d allo w in g a m in o r access to a f irearm

. T ried

1

b y a j u ry an d co n v icted o n all co u n ts, ap p ellan t w as sen ten ced to tw en ty y ears f o r p o ssessio n

w i t h i n ten t to d istrib u te co cain e; a co n secu tiv e tw en ty y ears, w ith all b u t f iv e y ears

su sp en d ed

, f

o r p o ssessio n o f a f

irearm in co n n ecti o n w ith a d ru g traf f ick in g o f f en se; a

co n secu tiv e f

if teen y ears, all su sp en d ed

, f o r illeg al p o ssessio n o f a rif le; a co n secu tiv e f

o u r

y ears, all su sp en d ed f

o r p o ssessio n o f B Z P ; an d

, a co n secu tiv e o n e y ear, all su sp en d ed

, f o r

p o ssessio n o f m arij u an a. A p p ellan t tim ely ap p ealed an d p resen ts th e f o llo w in g q u estio n s

f o r o u r rev iew :

1

. D id th e trial co u rt ab u se its d iscretio n w h en it p erm itted th e S tate to
in tro d u ce in to ev id en ce a n o teb o o k

, w h en its p ro b ativ e v alu e w as o u tw eig h ed

b y its p o ten tial f

o r u n f air p rej u d ice?

2

. D id th e trial co u rt err an d ab u se its d iscretio n w h en it p erm itted an

o f f icer to testif

y th at M r. Web ster’s n ick n am e w as “Y eah -O ” an d th at “Y eah

O ” m ean s co cain e in S p an ish ?

3

. D id th e trial co u rt err w h en it p erm itted th e S tate, o v er o b j ectio n , to

am en d C o u n t 5 o f th e in d ictm en t f ro m p o ssessio n o f M D M A to p o ssessio n o f

B Z P ?

B e f o r e t r i a l

, t h e S t a t e n o l p r o s s e d s e v e r a l c o u n t s , i n c l u d i n g o n e c o u n t o f p o s s e s s i o n 1

w i t h i n t e n t t o d i s t r i b u t e P C P

, o n e c o u n t o f p o s s e s s i o n o f P C P

, a n d t w o c o u n t s o f i l l e g a l

p o s s e s s i o n o f a r e g u l a t e d f i r e a r m

. A s w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e t h i r d q u e s t i o n , t h e
S t a t e a l s o w a s p e r m i t t e d t o a m e n d t h e p o s s e s s i o n o f M D M A c o u n t t o p o s s e s s i o n o f B Z P

.4 . Was th e sen ten ce im p o sed f o r p o ssessio n o f

m arij u an a illeg al?

5

. M u st M r. Web ster’s sen ten ces f o r p o ssessio n o f a rif

le b y a p erso n

w ith a d isq u alif

y in g co n v ictio n an d p o ssessio n o f a f irearm in co n n ectio n w ith

a d ru g traf

f ick in g o f f en se b e m erg ed

, w h ere th ey w ere b ased o n th e

p o ssessio n o f

a sin g le f irearm ?

F o r th e f o llo w in g reaso n s, w e sh all rev erse ap p ellan t’s co n v ictio n f o r p o ssessio n o f

B Z P

. We also sh all v acate ap p ellan t’s sen ten ce f o r p o ssessio n o f m arij u an a an d rem an d f o r

resen ten cin g o n th at co u n t. O th erw ise, th e j u d g m en ts sh all b e af f irm ed

.

B A C K G R O U N D

A t ap p ro x im ately 2 :3 0 p .m

. o n A p ril 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

, m em b ers o f th e M ary lan d S tate P o lice

resp o n d ed to an ad d ress in F red erick as a resu lt o f ap p ellan t’s f ailu re to a p p e a r i n c o u rt.

A f ter k n o ck in g o n th e ap artm en t d o o r an d receiv in g n o resp o n se, th e p o lice o b tain ed a k ey

f o r th e ap artm en t, m ad e en try

, an d d isco v ered ap p ellan t b ack in th e rear b ed ro o m w ith h is

tw o -y ear-o ld ch ild

. A t n o p o in t d u rin g th e en try d id ap p ellan t m ak e h is p resen ce k n o w n to

th e p o lice.

Wh en th ey m ad e en try in to th e ap artm en t, p o lice reco v ered a lo ad ed rif le in sid e a

clo set n ear th e f

ro n t d o o r o f t h e r e s i d e n ce. A f ter secu rin g th at w eap o n , th e p o lice th en

obt a i ned a search w arran t. P o lice th en reco v ered am m u n itio n , d ru g s, an d d ru g p arap he r na l i a

th ro u g h o u t th e ap artm en t.

T ro o p er F irst C lass Jas o n S tev en s, o f th e M ary lan d S tate P o lice, o f f ered f u rth er

d etails d u rin g trial. T h e rif le reco v ered f

ro m th e clo set w as a H i-P o in t n i n e mi llim eter

sem iau to m atic rif

le. R eco v ered f

ro m th e m ed icin e cab in et in th e b ath ro o m w ere 2 8 sm all

2b ag s o f su sp ected co cain e, a sm all am o u n t o f m arij u an a, an d a su sp ected h alf p ill o f E cstasy

.

A razo r b la d e a n d a d ig ital scale w ith su sp ected co cain e resid u e w ere reco v ered f ro m a

d resser in th e b ed ro o m

. In th e k itch en , p o lice reco v ered h u n d red s o f b ag g ies th at th e tro o p er

testif ied w ere co n sisten t w ith p ack ag in g m ateri a l s f o r co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ces.

H u n d red s o f ro u n d s o f am m u n itio n w ere reco v ered f

ro m tw o p lastic b ag s f

o u n d u n d ern eath

a telev isio n in th e ap artm en t.

In ad d itio n , a F red erick C o u n ty D eten tio n C en ter id en tif icatio n card w ith ap p ellan t’s

p ictu re w as lo cated o n a n earb y n ig h tstan d in th e b ed ro o m , as w ere tw o n o teb o o k s. 2

T ro o p er S t e v e n s testif

ied

, w ith o u t o b

j ectio n , th at o n e o f th e n o teb o o k s co n tain ed a list

lab eled “f ien s,” an d th at, “[ a] f

ien d is a d ru g a d d ict an d m an y tim es p eo p le in v o lv ed in 3

d istrib u tio n o f co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ces w ill u se a f ien d to d riv e th em aro u n d to p ick

u p p ack ag es an d n o rm ally th e f ien d is p aid eith er th ro u g h cash

, o r, u m , m o re co m m o n ly in

d ru g s.”

A s f o r th e item s reco v ered f

ro m th e m ed icin e cab in et, th e p arties stip u lated th at: th e

tab let w as .2 g ram s o f b en zy lp ip erazin e (B Z P ), a sch ed u le o n e d ru g ; th e p lan t m aterial w as

.5 g ram s o f m arij u an a; an d

, th e to tal g ro ss w eig h t o f th e 2 8 b ag s o f co cain e w as 9 .1 g ram s.

S en io r T ro o p er A u stin F o g le, w h o w as accep ted as an ex p ert, testif i e d t h a t th e co cain e

reco v ered f

ro m th e ap artm en t w as co n sisten t w ith p o ssessio n w ith th e in ten t to d istrib u te.

O n l y o n e o f t h e s e t w o n o t e b o o k s w a s a d m i t t e d i n t o e v i d e n c e a t t r i a l

. 2

W h i l e t h e l a b e l o f t h e l i s t i n t h e n o t e b o o k i s s p e l l e d “ f i e n s , ” t h e c o m m o n s p e l l i n g o f 3

t h e w o r d i s “ f

i e n d s ” a n d t h e t r a n s c r i p t r e f e r s t o i t a s s u c h

.

3T h e p arties also stip u lated th at th e rif le w as an o p erab le n in e-m illim eter L u g er calib er H iP o in t sem iau to m atic rif

le, an d th at ap p ellan t h ad tw o p rio r co n v ictio n s o f seco n d -d eg ree

assau lt w h ich p ro h ib ited h im f ro m p o ssessin g a rif

le.

A f ter th e S tate rested

, th e d ef en se called K ath leen B ed el, w h o resid e d a t t h e

ap artm en t in q u estio n

. S h e co n f irm ed th at ap p ellan t h ad stay ed w ith h er th e w eek b ef o re th e

arrest, b u t n o t th e d ay b ef o re. O n A p ril 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

, sh e called ap p ellan t early in th e m o rn in g

an d ask ed h im to b ab y sit th eir so n

. B ed el w as u n aw a r e o f a n y co cain e b ein g in h er

ap artm en t an d o f th e rif le in th e clo set. S h e tes t i f i e d t h a t ap p ellan t’s o ld er b ro th er

so m etim es stay ed in h er ap artm en t. H e, h o w ev er, h ad m o v ed o u t o f th e ap artm en t ab o u t a

m o n th p rio r to th is in cid en t. S h e also testif ied th at th e l o c k to h er ap artm en t w as b ro k en

an d

, o n th ree p rio r o ccasio n s, sh e h ad f o u n d ev id en ce in d icatin g th at so m eo n e h ad b een in

h er ap artm en t. A cco rd in g to B ed el, h er ap artm en t d o o r co u ld b e o p en ed w ith a cred it card

an d ap p ellan t k n ew h e co u ld access h er resid en ce in th at m an n er

. S h e co n f irm ed th at, at

tim es, ap p ellan t slep t o v er w ith h er in th e m aster b ed ro o m an d th at h e k ep t clo th in g at th e

ap artm en t.

A p p ellan t testif

ied o n h is o w n b eh alf th at h e w as in th e ap a r t men t at th e tim e th e

p o li c e arriv ed

, b u t h e claim ed th at h e d id n o t h av e an y k n o w led g e o f th e co n trab an d

reco v ered f

ro m th e ap artm en t. H e also d en ied th at h is n ick n am e w as Y eah -O an d th at th e

n o teb o o k ad m itted in to ev id en ce b elo n g ed to h im

. H e d id ag ree th at b o x er sh o rts f o u n d in

th e m aster b ed ro o m m o st lik ely b elo n g ed to h im

. H e k ep t clo th es in th e ap artm en t an d h ad

4b een in an “o n an d o f f ” relatio n sh ip w ith B ed el f o r th ree y ears. H e also testif ied th at h e h ad

b een u n em

p lo y ed f o r th e last y ear an d d id n o t h av e an y f ix ed ad d ress.

We sh all in clu d e ad d itio n al d etail in th e f o llo w in g d iscu ssio n

.

D IS C U S S IO N

I.

A p p ellan t f

irst co n ten d s th e co u rt erred in ad m ittin g a n o teb o o k b ecau se its p ro b ativ e

v alu e w as g reatly o u tw eig h ed b y its p o ten tial f o r u n f air p rej u d ice. T h e S tate resp o n d s th at

th e g ro u n d s asserted o n ap p eal are d if f eren t f ro m th o se th at w ere raised at trial an d th at th e

arg u m en t is w ith o u t m erit in an y ev en t. We ag ree w ith th e S tate.

P rio r to trial, th e c o u r t g r a n ted a m o tio n in lim in e to p reclu d e an y testim o n y

co n cern in g g an g -related activ ity af ter d ef en se co u n sel n o ted th at o n e o f th e tw o n o teb o o k s

reco v ered m en tio n ed ru les f o r th e E ast S id e B o u n ty H u n ters, a su b set o f th e B lo o d s g an g

.

T h ereaf ter, w h en T ro o p er S tev en s w as ask ed ab o u t th e co n ten ts o f th e n o teb o o k s, th e co u rt

su stain ed an o b

j ectio n w h en th e o f

f icer rep lied th at th ere w ere ru les f o r th at g an g in o n e o f

th e n o teb o o k s. S u b seq u en tl y , th e S tate o f f ered to ad m it th e o th er n o teb o o k

, id en tif ied as

S tate’s E x h ib it 9 at trial. D ef en se co u n sel o b

j ected o n th e g ro u n d s th at “[ i] t h as a lo t o f g an g

stu f f .” T h e co u rt rev iew ed th e n o teb o o k b ein g p ro f f ered an d th e f

o llo w in g en su ed :

T H E C O U R T : It, it alm o st lo o k s lik e rap p o em s to me

. O b v io u sly

th ere’s so m e p ictu res an d so m e d raw in g s.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : M m m -h m m . T h ere’s testim o n y –

T H E C O U R T : T h ere’s a p ictu re o f a g u n

.

5[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : T h ere’s –

T H E C O U R T : L i k e a d raw in g o f a g u n

. S o m e d raw in g s. F ace w ith

a

– th ere’s a g u n , th ere’s a f ace w ith a to n g u e stick in g o u t. (U n clear

- o n e

w o rd ) . . . (u n clear - o n e w o rd ), lo o k s lik e a g ro cery list.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : M m m -h m m

.

T H E C O U R T : Wip es, b o ttle, m ilk

, (u n clear

- o n e w o rd ) cu p s, (u n clear

- o n e w o rd ) d rin k s. K atie, em ails, an o th er p ictu re o f a g u n a n d a f ace, an ad d ress, (u n clear

- o n e w o rd ), so m e m ath

, o n e g r am p lu s o n e g ram

. S o m e

m o re m ath

. P ictu res. L o o k s lik e an o th er, p h o n e n u m b ers, an o th er p ictu re o f

a g u n , p ictu re o f a sh irt, an d I d o n ’t k n o w , so m e p ictu res o f so m e w ritin g w ith

so m e f lam es co m in g o u t o f

it.

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : A n d th ere’s a, th ere’s a s eco n d o n e an d I j u st, an d th ese are th e co p ies th ey g av e m e, b u t –

T H E C O U R T : Well, th is is th e o n e, w h at’s th is m ark ed ? H as it g o t a stick er o n it –

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : N in e –

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : T h is is n in e –

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : T h at’s n in e.

T H E C O U R T : A re y o u o b j ectin g to n in e?

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : Y es b ecau se I th in k th e b o o k s m ay co n tain

in f o rm atio n o r, o r th e w itn ess m ay sp ecu lat e t h a t an d in terp ret so m e o f th e in f o rm atio n a s b ein g

g a n g -rela ted

o r so m eth in g

like th a t

.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : A ctu ally th e p u rp o s e of t hi s book is f

o r d ru g -related

activ ity . Y o u r H o n o r p o in ted o u t th e g ram s.

T H E C O U R T : Y eah

.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : T h e w o rd f ien d s w as also in th ere –

6T H E C O U R T : Y es, I d id see –

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : – w h ich w as testif ied to p rev io u sly

–

T H E C O U R T : Y eah

.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : T h e list w ith th e n am es an d th e p h o n e n u m b ers.

T H E C O U R T : R ig h t.

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : T h is is th e ev id en ce o f th at. I b eliev e th is is –

T H E C O U R T : O k ay , I –

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : – ex trem ely p ro b ativ e.

(E m p h asis ad d ed ).

T h e co u rt th en o v erru led th e o b j ectio n to S tate’s E x h ib it 9 as f o llo w s:

T H E C O U R T : I, u m , I’ v e rev iew ed E x h ib it N u m b er 9 an d stated f

o r th e reco rd so m e o f th e th in g s th at I w as seein g in it. I d o b eliev e it is relev an t

as to d ru g activ ity an d I d o n ’t see an y th in g th at to th is C o u rt, th is lo o k s lik e

so me p o em s an d lu m in ati [ sic]

, so m e p o em s an d th in g s an d rap ty p e p o em s

an d p ictu res, p h o n e n u m

b ers, g ro cery list, em ails. N o th in g to th is C o u rt th at
is o v ertly g an g -related

. N ev erth eless I d o n ’t th in k th e, th ere’s an y th in g ab o u t

an y p rej u d icial in f

o rm atio n in h ere. T h ere’s f ien d s u n d e r a b u n ch o f p h o n e

an d th en ab o v e p h o n e n u m b ers, sev eral, lo o k s lik e sev en –

[ P R O S E C U T O R ] : A p p ear to b e p h o n e n u m b ers –

T H E C O U R T :

– p h o n e n u m b ers. S o I d o n ’t f

in d th at p rej u d icial v alu e

o u tw eig h s th e p ro b ativ e v alu e. I’m o v erru lin g th e o b

j ectio n , allo w y o u –

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : O k ay , th an k y o u , Y o u r H o n o r –

7T H E C O U R T : – to su b m it it. Y o u ’re w elco m e – 4

M a r y l a n d R u l e 8

- 1 3 1 ( a ) p r o v i d e s , i n p e r t i n e n t p a r t :

O r d i n a r i l y , t h e a p p e l l a t e c o u r t w i l l n o t d e c i d e a n y o t h e r i s s u e u n l e s s i t p l a i n l y

a p p e a r s b y t h e r e c o r d t o h a v e b e e n r a i s e d i n o r d e c i d e d b y t h e t r i a l c o u r t

, b u t

t h e C o u r t m a y d e c i d e s u c h a n i s s u e i f n e c e s s a r y o r d e s i r a b l e t o g u i d e t h e t r i a l

c o u r t o r t o a v o i d t h e e x p e n s e a n d d e l a y o f a n o t h e r a p p e a l

.

T h e p u r p o s e s o f R u l e 8

- 1 3 1 a r e :

“ ( a ) t o r e q u i r e c o u n s e l t o b r i n g t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e i r c l i e n t t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f

t h e l o w e r c o u r t a t t h e t r i a l s o t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t c a n p a s s u p o n , a n d p o s s i b l y

c o r r e c t a n y e r r o r s i n t h e p r o c e e d i n g s , a n d ( b ) t o p r e v e n t t h e t r i a l o f c a s e s i n a

p i e c e m e a l f

a s h i o n , t h u s a c c e l e r a t i n g t h e t e r m i n a t i o n o f l i t i g a t i o n

. ”

F i t z g e r a l d v

. S t a t e , 3 8 4 M d

. 4 8 4

, 5 0 5 ( 2 0 0 4 ) ( q u o t i n g C o u n t y C o u n c i l v

. O

f f e n , 3 3 4 M d

. 4 9 9

,

5 0 9 ( 1 9 9 4 ) ) ; a c c o r d R o b i n s o n v

. S t a t e , 4 0 4 M d

. 2 0 8

, 2 1 6

- 1 7 ( 2 0 0 8 )

.

M o reo v er, “ [ w ] h e r e a p a r t y a s s e r t s s p e c i f i c g r o u n d s f

o r a n o b j e c t i o n , a l l o t h e r g r o u n d s

n o t s p e c i f

i e d b y t h e p a r t y a r e w a i v e d

. ” T h o m a s v

. S t a t e , 1 8 3 M d

. A p p

. 1 5 2

, 1 7 7 ( 2 0 0 8 )

( c i t i n g K l a u e n b e r

g v

. S t a t e , 3 5 5 M d

. 5 2 8

, 5 4 1 ( 1 9 9 9 ) ) ; A y a l a v

. S t a t e , 1 7 4 M d

. A p p

. 6 4 7

,

6 6 5 ( 2 0 0 7 ) ( “ I t i s w e l l

- s e t t l e d t h a t w h e n s p e c i f i c g r o u n d s a r e g i v e n a t t r i a l f o r a n o b j e c t i o n ,

t h e p a r t y o b

j e c t i n g w i l l b e h e l d t o t h o s e g r o u n d s a n d o r d i n a r i l y w a i v e s a n y g r o u n d s n o t

s p e c i f i e d t h a t a r e l a t e r r a i s e d o n a p p e a l

. ” ) ( q u o t a t i o n a n d c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d ) ; s e e a l s o G u t i e r r e z

v

. S t a t e , 4 2 3 M d

. 4 7 6

, 4 8 8 ( 2 0 1 1 ) ( r e i t e r a t i n g t h a t “ w h e n a n o b j e c t o r s e t s f

o r t h t h e s p e c i f

i c

g r o u n d s f

o r h i s o b j e c t i o n

. . . t h e o b

j e c t o r w i l l b e b o u n d b y t h o s e g r o u n d s a n d w i l l o r d i n a r i l y

T h e c o u r t a d m i t t e d S t a t e ’ s E x h i b i t 9

. T h e n o t e b o o k n o t a d m i t t e d

, S t a t e ’ s E x h i b i t 4

1 0

, i s t h e o n e t h a t c o n t a i n s r u l e s f o r t h e E a s t S i d e B o u n t y H u n t e r s

. B o t h n o t e b o o k s , S t a t e ’ s
E x h i b i t s 9 a n d 1 0

, a r e i n c l u d e d w i t h t h e r e c o r d o n a p p e a l

.

8b e d e e m e d t o h a v e w a i v e d o t h e r g r o u n d s n o t s p e c i f i e d ” ) ( q u o t a t i o n a n d c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

.

O u r rev iew o f

th e reco rd in th is case p ersu ad es u s th at ap p ellan t’s o b j ectio n w as to

an y “g an g -r e l a t e d ” ev id en ce th at m ay h av e b een ad m itted

, eith er th ro u g h o n e o f th e

n o teb o o k s o r th e testim o n y o f T ro o p er S tev en s. It w as th is co n cern th at in f o rm ed th e trial

co u rt’s an aly sis. We are u n ab le to co n clu d e, as ap p ellan t n o w ask s u s to d o , th at d ef en se

co u n sel’s ad d itio n , “o r so m eth in g lik e th at,” raised ad d itio n al, u n stated g ro u n d s b ey o n d th e

ex p licit co n cern ab o u t g an g ev id en ce. T h eref o re, th is issu e w as n o t p ro p erly p reserv ed

.

B u t, ev en if p r e s e r v e d

, w e co n clu d e th at th e trial co u rt p ro p erly ex ercised its

d iscretio n in ad m ittin g th e n o teb o o k id en tif ied as S tate’s E x h ib it 9

. T h i s C o u r t h a s s t a t e d :

“ A r u l i n g o n t h e a d m i s s i b i l i t y o f e v i d e n c e o r d i n a r i l y i s w i t h i n t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s d i s c r e t i o n

. B l a i r v

. S t a t e , 1 3 0 M d

. A p p

. 5 7 1

, 5 9 2 ( 2 0 0 0 )

. T h i s C o u r t g e n e r a l l y

r e v i e w s s u c h r u l i n g s f

o r a n a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n

. S t a t e v

. S i m m s , 4 2 0 M d

. 7 0 5

, 7 2 4

- 2 5 ( 2 0 1 1 )

. “ A n a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n o c c u r s ‘ w h e r e n o r e a s o n a b l e p e r s o n

w o u l d t a k e t h e v i e w a d o p t e d b y t h e [ t r i a l ] c o u r t

, ’ o r w h e n t h e c o u r t a c t s

‘ w i t h o u t r e f

e r e n c e t o a n y g u i d i n g r u l e s o r p r i n c i p l e s

. ’ ” B r a s s M e t a l P r o d s

. v

. E

- J E n t e r s

. , 1 8 9 M d

. A p p

. 3 1 0

, 3 6 4 ( 2 0 0 9 ) ( q u o t i n g K i n g v

. S t a t e , 4 0 7 M d

. 6 8 2

, 6 9 7 ( 2 0 0 9 ) )

.

H a j i r e e n v

. S t a t e , 2 0 3 M d

. A p p

. 5 3 7

, 5 5 2 ( 2 0 1 2 ) ( i n t e r n a l p a r a l l e l c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d ) ; s e e a l s o

G o r d o n v

. S t a t e , 4 3 1 M d

. 5 2 7

, 5 3 3 ( 2 0 1 3 ) ( “ [ O ] r d i n a r i l y a t r i a l c o u r t ’ s r u l i n g s o n t h e

a d m i s s i b i l i t y o f e v i d e n c e a r e r e v i e w e d f o r a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n

. ” ( c i t i n g H o p k i n s v

. S t a t e , 3 5 2

M d

. 1 4 6

, 1 5 8 ( 1 9 9 8 ) ) )

.

M a r y l a n d R u l e 5

- 4 0 1 p r o v i d e s t h a t :

“ R e l e v a n t e v i d e n c e ” m e a n s e v i d e n c e h a v i n g a n y t e n d e n c y t o m a k e t h e

e x i s t e n c e o f a n y f

a c t t h a t i s o f c o n s e q u e n c e t o t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e a c t i o n

m o r e p r o b a b l e o r l e s s p r o b a b l e t h a n i t w o u l d b e w i t h o u t t h e e v i d e n c e

.

9F u r t h e r :

“ R e l e v a n t e v i d e n c e ” i s “ e v i d e n c e h a v i n g a n y t e n d e n c y t o m a k e t h e

e x i s t e n c e o f a n y f

a c t t h a t i s o f c o n s e q u e n c e t o t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e a c t i o n

m o r e o r l e s s p r o b a b l e t h a n i t w o u l d b e w i t h o u t t h e e v i d e n c e

. ” M d

. R u l e 5

- 4 0 1 ;

a c c o r d S n

y d e r v

. S t a t e , 3 6 1 M d

. 5 8 0

, 5 9 1 ( 2 0 0 0 )

. I n a d d i t i o n , e v i d e n c e , e v e n
i f r e l e v a n t

, “ m a y b e e x c l u d e d i f i t s p r o b a t i v e v a l u e i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y o u t w e i g h e d

b y t h e d a n g e r o f u n f

a i r p r e j u d i c e

. ” M d

. R u l e 5

- 4 0 3

. “ [ T ] h e a d m i s s i o n o f

e v i d e n c e i s c o m m i t t e d t o t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s c r e t i o n o f t h e t r i a l c o u r t

. ” S i f r i t

v

. S t a t e , 3 8 3 M d

. 1 1 6

, 1 2 8 ( 2 0 0 4 ) ( c i t i n g M e r z b a c h e r v

. S t a t e , 3 4 6 M d

. 3 9 1

, 4 0 5 ( 1 9 9 7 ) )

. “ T h e d i s c r e t i o n n e c e s s a r i l y e n t r u s t e d t o t h e u m p i r e o n t h e f i e l d

e m b r a c e s , b y d e f

i n i t i o n , a r a n g e o f r a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n s

. W i t h i n t h a t r a n g e a t r i a l j u d g e m a y f

r e e l y r u l e i n e i t h e r d i r e c t i o n w i t h o u t f e a r o f b e i n g o v e r t u r n e d

. ”

T a t e v

. S t a t e , 1 7 6 M d

. A p p

. 3 6 5

, 4 0 8 ( 2 0 0 7 )

, v a c a t e d o n o t h e r g r o u n d s , 4 0 5

M d

. 1 0 6 ( 2 0 0 8 )

.

A l l e n v

. S t a t e , 1 9 2 M d

. A p p

. 6 2 5

, 6 5 1

- 6 5 2 ( 2 0 1 0 ) ( i n t e r n a l p a r a l l e l c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d )

.

B u t

, e v e n r e l e v a n t e v i d e n c e m a y b e e x c l u d e d :

A l t h o u g h r e l e v a n t

, e v i d e n c e m a y b e e x c l u d e d i f i t s p r o b a t i v e v a l u e i s

s u b s t a n t i a l l y o u t w e i g h e d b y t h e d a n g e r o f u n f a i r p r e j u d i c e , c o n f

u s i o n o f t h e
i s s u e s , o r m i s l e a d i n g t h e j u r y , o r b y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f u n d u e d e l a y , w a s t e o f

t i m e , o r n e e d l e s s p r e s e n t a t i o n o f c u m u l a t i v e e v i d e n c e

.

M a r y l a n d R u l e 5

- 4 0 3 ; s e e D e c k e r v

. S t a t e , 4 0 8 M d

. 6 3 1

, 6 4 0 ( 2 0 0 9 ) ( “ R e l e v a n t e v i d e n c e

m a y b e e x c l u d e d

, h o w e v e r , i f i t i s u n f a i r l y p r e j u d i c i a l

, c o n f

u s i n g t o t h e f

a c t f i n d e r , o r a w a s t e

o f t i m e

. ” ) ; s e e a l

s o T i p t o n v

. S t a t e , 3 9 M d

. A p p

. 5 7 8

, 5 8 5 ( 1 9 7 8 ) ( e v e n i f r e l e v a n t

, t r i a l j u d g e

s h o u l d w e i g h f

a c t o r s g o i n g t o p r o b a t i v e v a l u e , s u c h a s l i k e l i h o o d j u r y m a y b e a r o u s e d b y

e m o t i o n o r o t h e r w i s e d i s t r a c t e d ; t h a t e v i d e n c e w i l l c o n s u m e a n u n d u e a m o u n t o f t i m e ; a n d

t h e d a n g e r o f u n f

a i r s u r p r i s e )

.

O n ap p eal, ap p ellan t id en tif ies f o u r areas o f p articu lar co n cer n f ro m th e ad m issio n

o f th e n o teb o o k : (1 ) th e w o rd “g ram ” an d a h ead in g lab eled “f ien s;” (2 ) d raw in g s o f g u n s;

1 0(3 ) rap p o em s co n tain in g v io len t ref eren ces an d p ro v o cativ e lan g u ag e; an d

, (4 ) o n e p assag e

su g g estin g p rio r co n tact w ith law en f o rcem en t. A s f

o r ap p ellan t’s co n cern ab o u t th e w o rd

“f ien s,” it ap p ears th at w as w aiv ed b ecau se, as set f o rth in o u r b ack g ro u n d d i s c u s s io n ,

T ro o p er S tev en s testif

ied

, w ith o u t o b

j ectio n , to th e m ean in g o f f ien d s in th e co n tex t o f d ru g

d istrib u tio n

. S e e Y

a t e s v

. S t a t e , 4 2 9 M d

. 1 1 2

, 1 2 0

- 2 1 ( 2 0 1 2 ) ( “ W h e r e c o m p e t e n t e v i d e n c e

o f a m a t t e r i s r e c e i v e d

, n o p r e j u d i c e i s s u s t a i n e d w h e r e o t h e r o b j e c t e d t o e v i d e n c e o f t h e

s a m e m a t t e r i s a l s o r e c e i v e d

. ” ( c i t a t i o n a n d i n t e r n a l q u o t a t i o n m a r k s o m i t t e d ) ) ; s e e a l s o

D e L e o n v

. S t a t e , 4 0 7 M d

. 1 6

, 3 0

- 3 1 ( 2 0 0 8 ) ( h o l d i n g t h a t a d e f e n d a n t w a i v e d a n o b

j e c t i o n t o

w h a t h e c l a i m e d w a s n o t r e l e v a n t a n d a l s o h i g h l y p r e j u d i c i a l t e s t i m o n y a b o u t h i s p u r p o r t e d

g a n g a f f i l i a t i o n b e c a u s e “ e v i d e n c e o n t h e s a m e p o i n t [ w a s ] a d m i t t e d w i t h o u t o b j e c t i o n ”

e l s e w h e r e a t t r i a l )

.

A s f o r a p p e l l a n t ’ s r e m a i n i n g c o n t e n t i o n s , w e a r e n o t p e r s u a d e d t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t

a b u s e d i t s d i s c r e t i o n

. C e r t a i n l y , n o o b j e c t i o n o r a r g u m e n t w a s r a i s e d t h a t t h e n o t e b o o k

c o n t a i n e d i n a d m i s s i b l e o t h e r c r i m e s e v i d e n c e , a s a p p e l l a n t n o w a s s e r t s o n a p p e a l

. A n d

, w e

are n o t p ersu ad ed th at th e p ro b ativ e v alu e o f th e d raw in g s o f g u n s, th e calcu latio n o f g ram s,

an d th e listin g o f “f

ien s” w as su b stan tially o u tw eig h ed b y th e d an g er o f u n f air p rej u d ice

g iv en th e relev an ce o f su ch ev id en ce to th e issu es b ef o re th e j u ry

. A s to th e d raw in g s, it h as

b een o f ten stated

, “ [ t ] h e r e c a n b e n o s e r i o u s d i s p u t e t h a t t h e r e i s a n i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p

b e t w e e n v i o l e n c e a n d d r u g s

. ” Ma r k s v

. C r i m i n a l C o m

p e n s a t i o n , 1 9 6 M d

. A p p

. 3 7

, 7 0

( 2 0 1 0 ) ; see a lso B u r n s v

. S t a t e , 1 4 9 M d

. A p p

. 5 2 6

, 5 4 2 ( 2 0 0 3 ) ( “ T h e i n t i m a t e c o n n e c t i o n

1 1b e t w e e n g u n s a n d n a r c o t i c s i s n o t o r i o u s ” ) ; W h i t i n g v

. S t a t e , 1 2 5 M d

. A p p

. 4 0 4

, 4 1 7 ( 1 9 9 9 )

( “ w e h a v e a c k n o w l e d g e d a n e x u s b e t w e e n d r u g d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d g u n s ” ) ; B a n k s v

. S t a t e , 8 4

M d

. A p p

. 5 8 2

, 5 9 1 ( 1 9 9 0 ) ( “ [ p ] o s s e s s i o n a n d i n d e e d

, u s e , o f w e a p o n s , m o s t n o t a b l y ,

f i r e a r m s , i s c o m m o n l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e d r u g c u l t u r e ” )

. T h e trial co u rt n eith er erred n o r

ab u sed its d iscretio n in ad m ittin g th e n o teb o o k in to ev id en ce.

II.

A p p e l l an t n ex t asserts th e trial co u rt erred in ad m ittin g ev id en ce o f h is alleg ed

n ick n am e b ecau se th at ev id en ce am o u n ted to in ad m issib le h earsay an d im p ro p er p ro p en sity

ev id en ce. T h e S tate resp o n d s th at, to th e ex ten t p reserv ed

, th e trial co u rt p ro p erly ex ercised

its d iscretio n

.

P rio r to j u r y s e l ectio n , ap p ellan t m o v ed in lim in e to p rev en t T ro o p er S tev en s f ro m

testif y in g th at ap p ellan t’s n ick n am e w as a slan g S p an ish w o rd f o r co cain e. T h e co u rt d en ied

th e m o tio n , n o tin g th at it w o u ld co n sid er o b j ectio n s to th at ef

f ect d u rin g trial. T h ereaf

ter,

dur i ng Tr oope r Stev en s’ testim o n y ab o u t th e seizu re o f ev id en ce f ro m ap p ellan t’s a

pa r t m e nt

,

th e f o llo w in g en su ed :

T h ere w ere also tw o n o teb o o k s w h ich w ere lo c a t e d

. T h e n o teb o o k s h ad

in f o rm atio n , ah

, th ey , th ey h ad th e n am e Y eah -O

, w h i c h I k n o w to b e a

n ick n am e f

o r M r. Web ster. Y eah -O is a slan g term f o r co cain e.

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : O b

, o b j ectio n , Y o u r H o n o r , it’s

. . . n o n

resp o n siv e.

T H E C O U R T : A ll rig h t. S u stain

. S trik e. A sk y o u to co n tin u e. P lease

strik e th at.

1 2B Y [ P R O S E C U T O R ] :

Q

. S o y o u said y o u f

o u n d a b o o k

th at h ad th e n am e Y eah -O in it? Is

th at co rrect?

A . Y es sir. T w o b o o k s.

Q . O k ay . A n d y o u said Y eah -O ’s a n am e y o u k n o w as w h o ?

[ D E F E N S E C O U N S E L ] : O b j ectio n

.

T H E C O U R T : O v erru le.

T H E W I T N E S S : U m , C o ry ea Web ster’s k n o w n as Y eah -O o n th e

street.

B Y [ P R O S E C U T O R ] :

Q . O k ay . A n d y o u said y o u k n o w th at w o rd to m ean w h at?

A . C o cain e.

A p p ellan t’s p rim ary arg u m en t is th at th e ev id en ce th at h is n ick n am e w as “Y eah -O ”

am o u n ted to in ad m issib le h earsay

. U n d er th e M ary lan d R u les, h earsay is d e f i n e d as “a 5

sta t e me n t, o th er th an o n e m ad e b y th e d eclaran t w h ile testif y in g at th e trial o r h earin g ,

o f f ered in ev id en ce to p ro v e th e tru th o f th e m atter asserted .” M d

. R u l e 5

- 8 0 1 (c). A

“statem en t” is “(1 ) an o ral o r w ritten assertio n o r (2 ) n o n v erb al co n d u ct o f a p erso n , if it is

in ten d ed b y th e p erso n as an assertio n .” M d

. R u le 5 -8 0 1 (a). A “d eclaran t” is “a p erso n w h o

A p p e l l a n t ’ s s e c o n d o b

j e c t i o n o n t h i s i s s u e w a s g e n e r a l

. T h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l s h a s 5

r e c o g n i z e d t h a t “ a p a r t y b a s i n g a n a p p e a l o n a ‘ g e n e r a l ’ o b j e c t i o n t o a d m i s s i o n o f c e r t a i n

e v i d e n c e , m a y a r g u e a n y g r o u n d a g a i n s t i t s i n a d m i s s i b i l i t y

. ” J o h n s o n v

. S t a t e , 4 0 8 M d

. 2 0 4

, 2 2 3 ( 2 0 0 9 ) ( c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d )

.

1 3m ak es a statem en t.” M d

. R u le 5 -8 0 1 (b ). F u rth er, “[ e] x cep t as o th erw ise p ro v id ed b y th ese

ru les o r p e r mi t ted b y ap p licab le co n stitu tio n al p ro v isio n s o r statu tes, h earsay is n o t

ad m issib le.” M d . R

u le 5 -8 0 2 . “T h u s, a circu it co u rt h as n o d iscretio n to ad m it h earsay in

th e ab sen ce o f a p ro v isio n p ro v id in g f o r its ad m issib ility

. Wh eth er e v i d e n ce is h earsay is

an issu e o f law rev iew ed d e n o vo .” B ern a d

yn v. S ta te

, 3 9 0 M d

. 1

, 8 (2 0 0 5 ); a cco rd T h o m a s

v. S ta te , 4 2 9 M d . 8 5 , 9 8 (2 0 1 2 ).

C o u rts g en erally b eg in b y id en tif y in g th e p ro p o sitio n th at th e ev id en ce w as o f f ered

to p ro v e. S

ee B ern a d yn , 3 9 0 M d

. at 1 0 (“We th eref o re b eg in o u r in q u iry b y id en tif y in g th e

p ro p o sitio n th at th e m ed ical b ill w a s o f f ered to p ro v e.”) (citatio n o m itted ); M u rp h y ,

M a ryla n d E vid

en ce H a n d b o o k § 7 0 2

, at 3 0 5 (4 th ed

. 2 0 1 0 ) (“Wh en an o u t-o f -co u rt

s t a t e m en t is o f

f ered in ev id en ce, th e trial j u d g e m u st f irst d eterm in e w h y it i s b e i n g

o f f ered ”).

In th is case, th e S tate so u g h t to estab l ish th at th e n o teb o o k ad m itted in to ev id en ce,

S tate’s E x h ib it 9

, w as circu m stan tially l i n k e d t o ap p ellan t b ecau se th e f ro n t co v er o f th e

n o teb o o k lists th e n am e “Y a Y o ,” an d th e testim o n y o f T ro o p er S tev en s w as th at ap p ellan t

w as k n o w n b y th e sim ilar n ick n am e “Y eah -O .” A p p ellan t co n ten d s h is n ick n am e q u alif ied

as h earsay . M an y

au th o rities su g g est th at is n o t th e case. P r o f e s s o r W i g m o r e e x p l a i n s :

A p e r s o n ’ s n a m e i s t h e t i t l e b y w h i c h h e h i m s e l f a n d o t h e r s h a b i t u a l l y c a l l h i m

. T o k n o w a p e r s o n ’ s n a m e , t h e r e f o r e , i s t o h a v e h e a r d h i m s o c a l l e d b y h i m s e l f

a n d b y o t h e r s

. I n s t r i c t n e s s , s u c h a n u t t e r a n c e i s n o t h e a r s a y , e x c e p t w h e r e i t

i s m a d e a s a n a s s e r t i o n o f f a c t

. B u t

, t h o u g h i t m a y b e h e a r s a y , a s a s o u r c e o f

i n f o r m a t i o n , y e t i s u n i v e r s a l l y r e l i e d u p o n a s a s o u r c e o f k n o w l e d g e

. C o u r t s
h a v e c o m m o n l y a c c e p t e d t h e t e s t i m o n y f o u n d e d u p o n i t

.

1 42 W i g m o r e , E v i d e n c e § 6 6 7 a , a t 9 2 8 ( C h a d b o u r n e r e v

. 1 9 7 9 ) (em p h asis in o rig in al).

F u rth er:

O n e v i r t u a l l y a l w a y s l e a r n s a n a m e

– e v e n o n e ’ s o w n – b y b e i n g t o l d w h a t i t

i s

. S e e U n i t e d S t a t e s v

. Ma

y , 6 2 2 F

. 2 d 1 0 0 0

, 1 0 0 7 ( 9 t h C i r

. )

, c e r t

. d e n i e d

, 4 4 9

U

. S

. 9 8 4 ( 1 9 8 0 )

. N e v e r t h e l e s s , e v i d e n c e a s t o n a m e s i s c o m m o n l y r e g a r d e d

a s e i t h e r n o t h e a r s a y b e c a u s e i t i s n o t i n t r o d u c e d t o p r o v e t h e t r u t h o f t h e

m a t t e r a s s e r t e d

, . . . , o r s o i m b u e d w i t h r e l i a b i l i t y b e c a u s e o f t h e n a m e ’ s

c o m m o n u s a g e a s t o m a k e a n y o b j e c t i o n f r i v o l o u s

.

U

. S

. v

. A l l e n , 9 6 0 F

. 2 d 1 0 5 5

, 1 0 5 9 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 1 9 9 2 ) ( s o m e i n t e r n a l c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d ) ; s e e

a l s o S t a t e v

. S h i e l d

s , 6 1 9 S

. W

. 2 d 9 3 7

, 9 4 0 ( M o

. C t

. A p p

. 1 9 8 1 ) ( “ E v i d e n c e o f t h e n a m e b y

w h i c h a p e r s o n i s k n o w n i s n o t w i t h i n t h e r u l e e x c l u d i n g h e a r s a y e v i d e n c e

. ” ) ; S t a t e v

.

B a r n e t t

, 2 5 4 S

. E

. 2 d 1 9 9

, 2 0 1 ( N

. C

. C t

. A p p

. 1 9 7 9 ) ( “ T h e n a m e a p e r s o n i s c a l l e d i s a f a c t

,

a n d i n t h i s c a s e t h e w i t n e s s w a s t e s t i f y i n g t o s u c h a f

a c t w i t h i n h i s o w n k n o w l e d g e ” ) ; S t a t e

v

. J o h n s o n , 1 3 A

. 3 d 1 0 6 4

, 1 0 6 6 ( R

. I

. 2 0 1 1 ) ( “ [ A ] m u l t i t u d e o f c o u r t s h a v e h e l d t h a t e v i d e n c e

a b o u t a p e r s o n ’ s n i c k n a m e , i n t h i s c o n t e x t

, d o e s n o t c o n s t i t u t e h e a r s a y b e c a u s e t h e u s e o f

s u c h a n a m e d o e s n o t r i s e t o t h e l e v e l o f a n a s s e r t i o n ” ) ; S t a t e v

. F e y e r e i s e n , 3 4 5 N

. W

. 2 d 5 8

,

6 0 ( S

. D

. 1 9 8 4 ) ( “ [ T ] h e r e i s s u b s t a n t i a l a u t h o r i t y t h a t e v i d e n c e o f a n a m e b y w h i c h a p e r s o n

i s k n o w n i s n o t w i t h i n t h e r u l e e x c l u d i n g h e a r s a y e v i d e n c e

. ” )

.

U n d er th e circu m stan ces in t h i s c a s e, T ro o p er S tev en s’ testim o n y reg ard in g a

n o teb o o k w ith a p articu lar n ick n am e o n it th at w as f o u n d in th e ap artm en t w as n o t o f f ered

as circu m stan tial ev id en ce o f ap p ellan t’s in v o lv em en t in th e d ru g trad e. N eith er h is o n an d

o f f ag ain p resen ce in th e ap artm en t n o r h is actu al p resen ce w h en th e p o lice arriv ed w as an

issu e. A s to th e n ick n am e th at t i e d a p p e l l an t to th e n o teb o o k b ein g h earsay , t h e N i n t h

1 5C i r c u i t h a s r e c o g n i z e d :

W e d o n o t t h i n k t h a t t h e n a m e i s h e a r s a y

. I n a s e n s e , i t i s

. W e c a n k n o w a

p e r s o n ’ s n a m e o n l y b y b e i n g t o l d

, e i t h e r b y t h e p e r s o n o r s o m e o n e e l s e , u n l e s s ,

o f c o u r s e , w e h a p p e n t o h a v e c h r i s t e n e d t h e p e r s o n

. B u t a n a m e , h o w e v e r
l e a r n e d

, i s n o t r e a l l y t e s t i m o n i a l

. R a t h e r , i t i s a b i t o f c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e

.

M a y , 6 2 2 F

. 2 d a t 1 0 0 7 ; s e e a l s o U

. S

. v

. W e e k s , 9 1 9 F

. 2 d 2 4 8

, 2 5 1 ( 5 C i r

. 1 9 9 0 ) ( h o l d i n g t h

t h a t w i t n e s s ’ s t e s t i m o n y a b o u t a p e r s o n ’ s n i c k n a m e r e p o r t e d n o n

- a s s e r t i v e o r a l c o n d u c t a n d

w a s n o t h e a r s a y ) ; U

. S

. v

. D a y , 5 9 1 F

. 2 d 8 6 1

, 8 8 4

- 8 5 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 1 9 7 8 ) ( c o n c l u d i n g t h a t n o t e

b e a r i n g d e f

e n d a n t ’ s n a m e f

o u n d o n c o c o n s p i r a t o r i s n o n h e a r s a y ) ( c o l l e c t i n g s i m i l a r c a s e s ) ;

U

. S

. v

. S n o w , 5 1 7 F

. 2 d 4 4 1

, 4 4 3

- 4 4 ( 9 t h C i r

. 1 9 7 5 ) ( h o l d i n g t h a t a n a m e t a g b e a r i n g

d e f e n d a n t ’ s n a m e a f

f i x e d t o m a c h i n e g u n c a s e t r e a t e d a s c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e o n l y a n d

n o n h e a r s a y )

.

We reco g n ize th at an im

p o rtan t p art o f ap p ellan t’s arg u m en t is th at th e S tate also u sed

T ro o p er S tev en s’ testim o n y to su g g est th at ap p ellan t’s n ick n am e w as slan g f o r “co cain e.”

In o th er w o rd s, ap p ellan t’s co n ten tio n is th at th e S tate so u g h t to h av e th e ev id en ce ad m itted

f o r th e tru th o f

th e m atter asserted . H o w ev er, ap p ellan t’s o n ly o b j ectio n to th at testim o n y

at trial w as th at th e testim o n y w as n o n -resp o n siv e. A n d

, as ap p ellan t co n ced es, h e w aiv ed

an y o b j ectio n to th is ev id en ce b y n o t o b j ectin g w h en T ro o p er S tev en s testif ied a seco n d tim e

th at Y eah -O w as slan g f

o r co cain e. A s th e C o u rt o f A p p eals h as reaf f irm ed

, “ [ o ] b

j e c t i o n s

a r e w a i v e d i f

, a t a n o t h e r p o i n t d u r i n g t h e t r i a l

, e v i d e n c e o n t h e s a m e p o i n t i s a d m i t t e d

w i t h o u t o b

j e c t i o n

. ” D e L e o n , 4 0 7 M d

. a t 3 1 ( c i t i n g P e i s n e r v

. S t a t e , 2 3 6 M d

. 1 3 7

, 1 4 5

- 4 6

( 1 9 6 4 ) ) ; s e e a l

s o K l a u e n b e r

g v

. S t a t e , 3 5 5 M d

. 5 2 8

, 5 4 5 ( 1 9 9 9 ) ( “ T h i s a l s o r e q u i r e s t h e p a r t y

1 6o p p o s i n g t h e a d m i s s i o n o f e v i d e n c e t o o b j e c t e a c h t i m e t h e e v i d e n c e i s p r o f f e r e d b y i t s

p r o p o n e n t ” )

. T h u s, th e o n ly issu e p ro p erly b ef o re th is C o u rt is w h eth er T ro o p er S tev en s’

testim o n y ab o u t th e p resen ce o f ap p ellan t’s alleg ed n ick n am e o n th e n o teb o o k am o u n ted to

h earsay , an d w e co n clu d e th at th ere w as n o erro r w h en th e trial co u rt o v erru led th e o b j ectio n

an d ad m itted th e ev id en ce at issu e.

M o reo v er, w e are p ersu ad ed th at if th ere w as an y erro r i t w as h arm less b ey o n d a

reaso n ab le d o u b t. S e e B e l l a m y v

. S t a t e , 4 0 3 M d

. 3 0 8

, 3 3 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) ( “ O n c e i t h a s b e e n

d e t e r m i n e d t h a t e r r o r w a s c o m m i t t e d

, r e v e r s a l i s r e q u i r e d u n l e s s t h e e r r o r d i d n o t i n f l u e n c e

t h e v e r d i c t ; t h e e r r o r i s h a r m l e s s o n l y i f i t d i d n o t p l a y a n y r o l e i n t h e j u r y ’ s v e r d i c t

. ” )

( q u o t a t i o n a n d c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. A s in d icated

, th e S tate w as o f f erin g ap p ellan t’s n ick n am e

an d its alleg ed m ean in g as circu m stan tial ev id en ce co n n ectin g ap p ellan t to o th er ev id en ce

reco v ered in th e ap artm en t. A n d y et, th at ev id en ce, i.e

., ap p ellan t’s p u rp o rted n ick n am e o n

a n o t e b o o k f

o u n d th ere, w as cu m

u lativ e to o th er ev id en ce estab lish in g ap p ellan t’s

relatio n sh ip to th e ap artm en t an d its co n ten ts. S e e D o v e v

. S t a t e , 4 1 5 M d

. 7 2 7

, 7 4 3

- 4 4

( 2 0 1 0 ) ( “ I n c o n s i d e r i n g w h e t h e r a n e r r o r w a s h a r m l e s s , w e a l s o c o n s i d e r w h e t h e r t h e

e v i d e n c e p r e s e n t e d i n e r r o r w a s c u m u l a t i v e e v i d e n c e

. E v i d e n c e i s c u m u l a t i v e w h e n , b e y o n d

a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t

, w e a r e c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e r e w a s s u f f i c i e n t e v i d e n c e , i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h e

[ e v i d e n c e ] c o m p l a i n e d o f

, t o s u p p o r t t h e a p p e l l a n t [ ’ s ] c o n v i c t i o n [ ]

. ” ) ( q u o t a t i o n a n d c i t a t i o n

o m i t t e d )

. O t h e r e v i d e n c e t y i n g a p p e l l a n t t o t h e a p a r t m e n t i n c l u d e d T r o o p e r S t e v e n s ’

t e s t i m o n y t h a t h e w as f

am iliar w ith ap p ellan t an d h ad sp o k en w ith h im o n p rio r o ccasio n s.

1 7H e also k n ew ap p ellan t’s ad d ress, an d th at ap p ellan t liv ed at th at lo catio n w ith h is ch ild an d

th e m o th er o f h is ch ild

. T h e r e w a s a l s o B e d e l ’ s t e s t i m o n y c o n f i r m i n g t h a t a p p e l l a n t h a d

s t a y e d i n h e r a p a r t m e n t

, s p e c i f i c a l l y s l e e p i n g o v e r i n t h e m a s t e r b e d r o o m a n d k e e p i n g c l o t h e s

t h e r e , a n d t h a t s h e h a d i n v i t e d h i m o v e r o n t h e d a y i n q u e s t i o n t o b a b y s i t t h e i r t w o

- y e a r

- o l d

s o n

. M o r e o v e r , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e d i r e c t e v i d e n c e t h a t a p p e l l a n t w a s p r e s e n t i n t h e a p a r t m e n t

w h e n t h e p o l i c e a r r i v e d

, a F red er i c k C o u n ty D eten tio n C en ter id en tif icatio n card w ith

ap p ellan t’s p ictu re w as lo cated o n th e n ig h tstan d in th e b ed ro o m , an d ap p ellan t ad m itted th at

h e stay ed th ere o n o ccasio n an d k ep t clo th es in th e ap artm en t

. A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e r e w a s o t h e r

e v i d e n c e b e y o n d t h e n o t e b o o k t h a t d e m o n s t r a t e d a s t r o n g c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n a p p e l l a n t a n d

t h e a p a r t m e n t

. A n d

, t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t a p p e l l a n t ’ s d e f e n s e w a s t h a t h e j u s t h a p p e n e d t o b e

p r e s e n t w h e n t h e p o l i c e a r r i v e d a n d t h a t t h e c o n t r a b a n d b e l o n g e d t o s o m e o n e e l s e , a r a t i o n a l

f i n d e r o f f a c t c o u l d n e v e r t h e l e s s c o n c l u d e t h a t a p p e l l a n t j o i n t l y a n d c o n s t r u c t i v e l y p o s s e s s e d

t h e i t e m s i n q u e s t i o n

. S e e M o y e v

. S t a t e , 3 6 9 M d

. 2

, 1 4 ( 2 0 0 2 ) ( “ T h e S t a t e d i d n o t n e e d t o

s h o w t h a t M o y e e x e r c i s e d s o l e p o s s e s s i o n o f t h e d r u g s a n d p a r a p h e r n a l i a

. R a t h e r , a p e r s o n

m a y h a v e a c t u a l o r c o n s t r u c t i v e p o s s e s s i o n o f t h e C D S

, a n d t h e p o s s e s s i o n m a y b e e i t h e r

e x c l u s i v e o r j o i n t i n n a t u r e ” )

.

III.

A p p ellan t arg u es th at, p rio r to j u ry selectio n , th e co u rt erred in p erm ittin g th e S tate

to am en d C o u n t 5 o f

th e in d ictm en t, w h ich p ro v id ed as f o llo w s:

C O U N T 5 - P O S S E S S IO N O F C D S

1 8A n d

, th e Ju ro rs af o resaid

, d o o n th eir o ath s an d af f irm atio n s p r e s e n t
th at C o ry ea D o m in iq u e Web st e r , o n o r ab o u t A p ril 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

, at F red erick

C o u n ty

, M ary lan d , u n law f u lly d id p o ssess a co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ce

to S ch ed u le I, to w it: M eth y len ed io x y m eth am p h e tam in e (M D M A ), a n o n

n arco tic d ru g ; co n trary to th e f o rm o f th e A ct o f A ssem

b ly in su ch cases m ad e

an d p ro v id ed an d ag ain st th e p eace, g o v ern m en t, an d d i g n ity o f th e S tate. (C rim in al L aw 5 -6 0 1 ) C JIS C o d e: 4 3 5 5 0

.

T h e S tate so u g h t to am en d th e co u n t b ecau se th e resu lts o f d ru g testin g in d icated th at

th e p i l l f o u n d in ap p ellan t’s ap artm en t actu ally co n tain ed b en zy lp ip erazin e, “B Z P ,” as

o p p o s e d t o m eth y len ed io x y m eth am p h etam in e, “M D M A .” T h e S tate n o ted th at th e co u n t

ch arg ed illeg al p o ssessio n o f a co n t ro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ce an d th at b o th M D M A an d

B Z P w ere id en tif

ied u n d er S ch ed u le I. S

ee M d

. C o d e (2 0 0 2

, 2 0 1 2 R ep l. V o l., 2 0 1 4 S u p p .)

§ 5 -4 0 2 (d )(1 )(x v iii) o f th e C rim in al L a w A r t i c l e (“C rim

. L aw ”), (M D M A is a S ch ed u le I

d ru g ); C rim

. L aw § 5 -4 0 2 (a)(3 ) (M ary lan d S ch ed u le I d ru g s in clu d e d ru g s classif ied as su ch

u n d er f ed eral law ); 2 1 C .F .R

. 1 3 0 8

. 1 1 (f )(2 ) (B Z P is a S ch ed u le I d ru g ). T h e S tate also

n o ted th at th e p en alty rem ain ed th e sam e w h eth er th e co u n t l i s t e d M D M A o r B Z P

. S ee

C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 0 1 (p ro h ib itin g th e p o ssessio n o f co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ces an d

p en alizin g su ch illeg al p o ssessio n b y u p to f o u r y ears’ in carceratio n ). A f ter ap p ellan t

o b j ected

, th e co u rt p erm itted th e am en d m en t, n o tin g th at p o ssessio n o f b o th su b stan ces w as

illeg al u n d er C rim . L aw § 5 -6 0 1

.

M a r y l a n d R u l e 4

- 2 0 4 p r o v i d e s :

O n m o t i o n o f a p a r t y o r o n i t s o w n i n i t i a t i v e , t h e c o u r t a t a n y t i m e b e f o r e

v e r d i c t m a y p e r m i t a c h a r g i n g d o c u m e n t t o b e a m e n d e d e x c e p t t h a t i f t h e

a m e n d m e n t c h a n g e s t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e o f f e n s e c h a r g e d

, t h e c o n s e n t o f t h e

p a r t i e s i s r e q u i r e d

. I f a m e n d m e n t o f a c h a r g i n g d o c u m e n t r e a s o n a b l y s o

1 9r e q u i r e s , t h e c o u r t s h a l l g r a n t t h e d e f e n d a n t a n e x t e n s i o n o f t i m e o r

c o n t i n u a n c e

.

A s t h i s C o u r t s t a t e d i n A l b r e c h t v

. S t a t e , 1 0 5 M d

. A p p

. 4 5 ( 1 9 9 5 ) :

G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , a m e n d m e n t s t h a t h a v e b e e n d e e m e d t o b e m e r e l y c h a n g e s

o f f o r m h a v e b e e n s u c h t h i n g s a s a c l e r i c a l c o r r e c t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e n a m e

o f a d e f e n d a n t

, t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n o f o n e n a m e f o r a n o t h e r a s a r o b b e r y v i c t i m ,

a c h a n g e i n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f m o n e y , c h a n g i n g t h e n a m e o f t h e o w n e r o f

p r o p e r t y i n a t h e f

t c a s e , a n d c h a n g i n g t h e d a t e o f t h e o f f e n s e

. A n a m e n d m e n t

a s t o s u b s t a n c e , b y c o n t r a s t

, w o u l d c h a n g e t h e v e r y c h a r a c t e r o f t h e o f f e n s e

c h a r g e d

.

A l b r e c h t

, 1 0 5 M d

. A p p

. a t 6 8 ; a c c o r d H o l b r o o k v

. S t a t e , 1 3 3 M d

. A p p

. 2 4 5

, 2 5 9 ( 2 0 0 0 )

.

I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e “ c h a r a c t e r o f t h e o f f e n s e , ” t h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l s h a s e x p l a i n e d :

W e t h u s t h i n k i t c l e a r t h a t t h e r e i s a c h a n g e i n t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e

o f f e n s e c h a r g e d w h e r e t h e a m e n d m e n t “ c h a n g e [ s ] t h e b a s i c d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e

o f f e n s e , ” G r a

y v

. S t a t e , [ 2 1 6 M d

. 4 1 0

, ] 4 1 6 [ ( 1 9 5 8 ) ] ; i t i s e q u a l l y c l e a r t h a t t h e b a s i c d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e o f f e n s e i s i n d e e d c h a n g e d w h e n a n e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t

a c t i s a l l e g e d t o c o n s t i t u t e t h e c r i m e

.

T h a n o s v

. S t a t e , 2 8 2 M d

. 7 0 9

, 7 1 6 ( 1 9 7 8 )

.

In arg u in g th at th e co u r t e r r ed in p erm ittin g th e am en d m en t, ap p ellan t relies o n

J o h n s o n v

. S t a t e , 3 5 8 M d

. 3 8 4 ( 2 0 0 0 )

. In th at case, t h e d e f e n d a n t w a s c h a r g e d w i t h

p o s s e s s i o n w i t h i n t e n t t o d i s t r i b u t e m a r i j u a n a a n d s i m p l e p o s s e s s i o n o f m a r i j u a n a

. I d

. a t 3 8 6

.

P r i o r t o t r i a l

, t h e S t a t e w a s a l l o w e d t o a m e n d t h e c h a r g e t o a l l e g e t h a t t h e s u b s t a n c e w a s

c r a c k c o c a i n e

. I

d

. T h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l s c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e o f f e n s e c h a n g e d

a n d t h e a m e n d m e n t s h o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n p e r m i t t e d

. T h e C o u rt o f A p p eals reaso n ed th at

ch an g i n g th e id en tity o f a co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ce ch an g es th e id en tity o f th e

o f f en se. Id

. at 3 9 2 . T h e C o u rt reaso n ed :

2 0“th e id en tif icatio n o f th e p articu lar co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ce in v o lv ed

in a g iv en o f

f en se is so in ex tricab ly tied to th e cr i t i c al m atters o f th e

ap p ro p riate u n it o f p ro secu tio n an d th e p erm issib le o r m an d ated p u n ish m en t
th at it m u st b e treated as an elem en t o f th e o f f en se.”

Id

. at 3 9 1 (q u o tin g S ta te v. S im p so n , 3 1 8 M d . 1 9 4 , 1 9 8 (1 9 8 9 )).

We are persu ad ed th at Jo h n so n co n tro ls th e o u tco m e in th is case. A cco rd in g ly

, w e

h o ld th at t he t rial co u rt erred in p erm ittin g th e am en d m en t an d rev erse ap p ellan t’s co n v ictio n

o n th is co u n t.

IV

.

A p p ellan t n ex t co n ten d s th e trial co u rt erred in im p o sin g a o n e y e a r sen ten ce f o r

p o ssessio n o f m arij u an a b ecau se th at ex ceed ed th e ap p licab le p en alty p ro v isio n at th e tim e

o f sen ten cin g

. A p p ellan t cites Wa ker v. S ta te

, 4 3 1 M d

. 1 (2 0 1 3 ) in su p p o rt o f h is arg u m en t. 6

T h e S tate d isag rees, arg u in g th at Wa ker is in ap p licab le an d th at S tu b b s v. S ta te

, 4 0 6 M d

. 3 4

(2 0 0 8 ) is co n tro llin g . We ag ree w ith ap p ellan t.

A p p ellan t w as arrested o n A p ril 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

. T h e in d ictm en t ag ain st h im w as f iled o n

Ju n e 1

, 2 0 1 2

. T h e p arties stip u lated th at th e am o u n t o f m arij u an a seized in th is case w as .5

g ram s. A p p ellan t w as co n v icted b y a j u r y o n O cto b er 1 2

, 2 0 1 2 an d th en su b seq u en tly

sen ten ced o n F eb ru ary

2 1 , 2 0 1 3

.

E arlier, o n M ay 2

, 2 0 1 2 G o v ern o r M artin O ’M alley h ad si g n e d S en ate B ill 2 1 4

,

W e n o t e t h a t a p p e l l a n t ’ s s e n t e n c i n g a r g u m e n t s a r e p r e s e r v e d f o r o u r r e v i e w e v e n 6

t h o u g h h e d i d n o t o b

j e c t t o t h e s e n t e n c e s w h e n i m p o s e d

. W h e n a c o u r t i m p o s e s a s e n t e n c e

t h a t i s n o t a u t h o r i z e d b y l a w , t h e s e n t e n c e i s i l l e g a l

. W a k e r v

. S t a t e , 4 3 1 M d

. 1

, 7 ( 2 0 1 3 )

. U n d e r M d

. R u l e 4

- 3 4 5 ( a )

, a n i l l e g a l s e n t e n c e m a y b e c o r r e c t e d a t a n y t i m e

.

2 1w h ich rep ealed an d reen acted w ith am en d m en t s t h e p en alty p ro v isio n f o r p o ssessio n o f

m arij u an a. 2 0 1 2 M d

. L aw s, ch

. 1 9 3

. T h e law

, w h ich to o k ef f ect o n O cto b er 1

, 2 0 1 2

, w as

en acted f o r “th e p u rp o se o f estab lish in g a red u ced p en alty f o r a p erso n co n v icted o f th e u se

o r p o ssessio n o f

less th an a certain q u an tity o f m arij u an a[ .] ” T h e law ad d ed th e f o llo w in g

lan g u ag e to th e p en alty sectio n f o r p o ssessio n o f m arij u an a: “A p erso n co n v icted o f th e u se

o r p o ssessio n o f less th an 1 0 g ram s o f m arij u an a is su b j ect to im p riso n m en t n o t ex ceed in g

9 0 d ay s o r a f

in e n o t ex ceed in g $ 5 0 0 o r b o th .” S ee C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 0 1 (c)(2 )(ii). T h u s, th is

p en alty p ro v isi o n w a s i n ef f ect o n th e d ay ap p ellan t w as co n v icted an d o n th e d ay o f h is

sen ten cin g

.

We are g u id ed in o u r co n clu sio n th at ap p ellan t’s sen ten ce sh o u ld b e v acated b y

Wa ker, su p ra . T h ere, o n M arch 3 0 , 2 0 0 9

, Wak er co m m itted w h at w as th en a f elo n y th ef t

– th ef t o f p ro p erty v alu ed at m o re th an $ 5 0 0

, th e p en alty f o r w h ich w as , at th at tim e, a

m ax im u m sen ten ce o f

1 5 y ears im

p riso n m en t an d /o r a $ 2 5 ,0 0 0 f in e. S ee Wa ker , 4 3 1 M d

.

at 5 ; C rim

. L aw § 7 -1 0 4 (g )(1 ) (su p ersed ed ). D u rin g th e 2 0 0 9 sessio n , th e M ary lan d G en eral

A ssem b ly am en d ed th e M ary lan d th ef t statu te. Wa ker

, 4 3 1 M d

. at 2

. T h e b i l l

, w h ich

b e c am e ef

f ectiv e O cto b er 1

, 2 0 0 9

, ch an g ed th e d iv id in g lin e b etw een m isd em ean o r a n d

f elo n y th ef

ts. Id

. U n d e r th e n ew law

, th e d iv id in g lin e w as $ 1 ,0 0 0

, w ith a m ax im u m

sen ten ce f

o r m isd em ean o r th ef

t u n d er $ 1 ,0 0 0 b ein g 1 8 m o n th s, a $ 5 0 0 f in e o r b o th , an d a

m ax im u m sen ten ce f

o r f elo n y th ef t b etw een $ 1 ,0 0 0 an d $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 b ein g 1 0 y ears, a $ 1 0 ,0 0 0

f in e, o r b o th

. S

ee C rim . L aw § 7 -1 0 4 (g ).

2 2S ix w eek s af ter th e law to o k ef

f ect, o n D ecem

b er 1 1 , 2 0 0 9 , Wak er w as tried o n an

ag reed statem en t o f

f acts an d f o u n d g u ilty o f

th ef t o f p ro p erty h av in g a v alu e o f

$ 6 1 5 an d

sen ten ced to 1 0 y ears o f im p riso n m en t. Wa ker

, 4 3 1 M d

. at 2

. H e ap p ealed arg u in g th at h is

sen ten ce w as illeg al b ecau se th e trial co u rt sh o u ld h av e ap p lied th e p en alty in ef f ect at th e

tim e o f trial an d sen ten cin g , w h i c h allo w ed f o r a m ax im

u m sen ten ce o f 1 8 m o n th s o f

im p riso n m en t an d /o r a $ 5 0 0 f in e. S ee Wa ker

, 4 3 1 M d

. at 6 ; C rim

. L aw § 7 -1 0 4 (g )(2 ). T h e

C o u rt o f A p p eals ag reed

, h o ld in g th at it is “th e p en alt i e s

. . . i n ef f ect at th e tim e th e trial

co u rt im p o sed sen ten ce” w h ich co n tro l. Id

. at 1 1

. T h u s, Wak er co u ld o n ly b e sen ten ced to

n o m o re th an 1 8 m o n th s in p riso n an d /o r a $ 5 0 0 f in e b ecau se th at w as th e law in ef f ect w h en

h e w as sen ten ced

. Id

. at 1 3

.

T h e S tate resp o n d s th at Wa ker is in ap p licab le an d th at S tu b b s v. S ta te , 4 0 6 M d

. 3 4

(2 0 0 8 ) co n tro ls. S tu b b s co n cern ed th e M ary lan d G en eral A ssem b ly ’s ad d itio n in 2 0 0 4 o f

a n ew p ro v isio n f

o r th ef t o f p ro p erty v alu ed at less th an $ 1 0 0

. S ee S tu b b s , 4 0 6 M d . at 3 6 ;

C rim

. L aw § 7 -1 0 4 (g )(3 ). T w o y ears af ter th e am en d m en t w en t in to ef f ect, S tu b b s sto le a

set o f w ren ch es f

ro m H o m e D ep o t, w h ich w ere v alu ed at $ 1 3 9 .8 6

. S tu b b s , 4 0 6 M d

. at 3 9

.

H e w as ch arg ed w ith th ef t o f p ro p erty v alu ed at less th an $ 5 0 0

. Id

. at 4 0

. H o w ev er, th e o n ly

ev id en ce p resen ted at trial reg ard in g v alu e w as th at th e sto len w ren ch es w ere w o rth $ 6 9 .9 3

.

Id

. at 4 0 -4 1

. S tu b b s arg u ed th at th e S tate sh o u ld h av e ch arg ed h im w ith th e f t o f p ro p erty

v alu ed a t l e s s th an $ 1 0 0

, an d th e S tate h ad n o t m et its b u rd en o f p ro v in g b ey o n d a

reaso n ab le d o u b t th at h e w as g u ilty o f th ef t o f less th an $ 5 0 0

. Id

. at 4 1 -4 2

. T h e trial co u rt

2 3d en ied th e m o t i o n , a n d u p o n co n v ictio n o f th ef t u n d er $ 5 0 0

, sen ten ced h im to 1 8 m o n th s

im p riso n m en t. Id

. at 4 2

.

T h e C o u rt o f A p p eals a f f i r m ed S tu b b s’ co n v ictio n an d sen ten ce. Id

. at 4 4

. In

reach in g th is co n clu sio n , th e C o u rt lo o k ed to th e leg islativ e h isto ry an d th e lan g u ag e o f th e

2 0 0 4 am en d m en t to th e th ef t statu te. S p ecif

ically

, th e C o u rt lo o k ed to th e reco m m en d atio n s

o f a n a p p o i n ted ad h o c co m m ittee f o rm ed to an aly

ze j u ry p ray ers f

ro m th e d istrict co u rt.

T h e co m m ittee co n clu d ed th at m o re m atters w o u ld b e reso lv ed at th e d istrict co u rt lev el if

th e S tate h ad g reater d iscretio n in ch arg in g certain m isd em ean o rs. I d

. at 4 5

. T h e C o u rt

ad d itio n ally n o ted th at, u n less th e o f f en se o f th ef t u n d er $ 1 0 0 w as sp ecif

ically ch arg ed b y

th e S tate, th e o f

f en se w as n o t b e a lesser in clu d ed o f f en se o f th ef

t o f p ro p erty

. Id

. at 4 7 ; see

a lso C rim . L aw § 7 -1 0 8 (d ).

S tu b b s is d i s t i n g u ish ab le f ro m ap p ellan t’s case. T h e issu e th ere co n cern ed th e

ch arg in g o f a crim e an d p en alty im p o sed

. H ere, w e are o n ly co n cern ed w ith t h e p en alty

im p o sed

. M o reo v er, th e p u rp o ses o f th e am en d ed statu tes d if f er. In S tu b b s , th e p u rp o se o f

am en d in g th e p en alty p ro v isio n o f th e th ef t statu e w as j u risd ict i o n a l

– t o g iv e th e S tate’s

A tto rn ey ’s O f

f ice th e d iscretio n to b rin g certain th ef t cases in d istrict co u rt rath er th an th e

circu it co u rt. H ere, th e p u rp o se o f am en d in g th e p en alty p ro v isio n f o r p o ssessio n o f

m arij u an a w as to d ecrim in alize an d red u ce th e p en alties f o r p o ssessio n o f sm all am o u n ts o f

m arij u an a.

F o r th e ab o v e reaso n s, w e are p ersu ad ed th at trial co u rt erred in im p o sin g a sen ten ce

2 4o f o n e y ear o n ap p ellan t’s p o ssessio n o f .5 g ram s o f m arij u an a. A cco rd in g ly

, w e sh all v acate

th at sen ten ce an d rem an d f o r re-sen ten cin g

. S

ee M d

. R u le 8 -6 0 4 (d )(2 ) (“In a crim in al case,

if th e ap p ellate co u rt rev erses th e j u d g m en t f o r er r o r i n th e sen ten ce o r sen ten cin g

p ro ceed in g , th e C o u rt sh all rem an d th e case f o r resen ten cin g ”). 7

V

.

F in ally

, ap p ellan t co n ten d s th at h is sen ten ce f o r p o ssessio n o f a f

irearm in n ex u s to

a d ru g traf

f ick in g crim e, p u rsu an t to C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 2 1

, m u st m erg e w ith h is sen ten ce f o r

p o ssessio n o f a r i f

l e af ter b ein g co n v icted o f a crim e o f v io len ce, p u rsu an t to M d

. C o d e

(2 0 0 3

, 2 0 1 1 R ep l. V o l., 2 0 1 4 S u p p .), § 5 -2 0 6 o f th e P u b lic S a f e t y A rticle (“P .S .”), u n d er

eith er th e ru le o f

len ity o r f u n d am en tal f

airn ess. We d isag ree. 8

C rim . L aw § 5 -6 2 1 p ro v id es, in p ertin en t p art:

(a) D efin itio n s.

– (1 ) In th is s e c t io n th e f o llo w in g w o rd s h av e th e

m ean in g s in d icated

.

(2 ) “D ru g traf

f ick in g crim e” m ean s a f

elo n y o r a co n sp iracy to co m m it

a f elo n y in v o lv in g th e p o ssessio n , d istrib u tio n , m an u f actu re, o r im

p o rtatio n

W e n o t e t h a t t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y h a s a g a i n a m e n d e d S e c t i o n 5

- 6 0 1 ( c ) ( 2 ) ( i i )

, a n d 7

t h a t p r o v i s i o n n o w p r o v i d e s , e f f e c t i v e O c t o b e r 1

, 2 0 1 4

, i n p e r t i n e n t p a r t : “ A f i r s t v i o l a t i o n

o f t h i s s e c t i o n i n v o l v i n g t h e u s e o r p o s s e s s i o n o f l e s s t h a n 1 0 g r a m s o f m a r i j u a n a i s a c i v i l

o f f e n s e p u n i s h a b l e b y a f

i n e n o t e x c e e d i n g $ 1 0 0

. ” T o t h e e x t e n t t h e r e i s a n y q u e s t i o n w h i c h

v e r s i o n o f t h e s t a t u t e c o n t r o l s o n r e m a n d

, w e s i m p l y n o t e t h a t “ a t a r e s e n t e n c i n g , ‘ t h e

s e n t e n c i n g c o u r t m u s t a p p r o a c h i t s t a s k a s i f n o s e n t e n c e h a d e v e r b e e n i m p o s e d

. ’ T h e r e f o r e , t h e ‘ t r i a l c o u r t i s c h a r g e d

. . . w i t h ‘ e x e r c i s i n g i t s s e n t e n c i n g d i s c r e t i o n ’ a s i f t h e s e n t e n c i n g

w a s o c c u r r i n g f

o r t h e f i r s t t i m e

. ’ ” P a r k e r v

. S t a t e , 1 9 3 M d

. A p p

. 4 6 9

, 4 8 9 ( 2 0 1 0 ) ( q u o t i n g
B a r t h o l o m e

y v

. S t a t e , 2 6 7 M d

. 1 7 5

, 1 9 3 ( 1 9 7 2 ) ) ; a c c o r d T w i g g v

. S t a t e , 2 1 9 M d

. A p p

. 2 5 9

, 2 8 6 ( 2 0 1 4 )

.

A p p e l l a n t d i d a r g u e f

o r m e r g e r o f t h e s e s e n t e n c e s a t t h e d i s p o s i t i o n h e a r i n g

. 8

2 5o f a co n tro lled d an g ero u s su b stan ce u n d er § § 5 -6 0 2 th ro u g h 5 -6 0 9 an d 5 -6 1 4

o f th is su b title.

(3 ) “F o rf eit i n g a u t h o rity ” m ean s th e o f f ice o r p erso n d esig n ated b y

ag reem en t b etw een th e S tate’s A tto rn ey f o r a co u n ty an d th e ch ief ex ecu tiv e

o f f icer o f th e g o v ern in g b o d y th at h as j u risd ictio n o v er th e a s s e t s su b j ect to
f o rf eitu re.

(b ) P ro h ib ited

. – D u rin g an d in relatio n to a d ru g traf f ick in g crim e, a

p erso n m ay

n o t:

(1 ) p o ssess a f

irearm u n d er su f

f icien t circu m stan ces to co n stitu te a

n ex u s to th e d ru g traf

f ick in g crim e; o r

(2 ) u se, w ear, carry , o r tran sp o rt a f irearm

.

(c) P en a lty

. – (1 ) I n ad d itio n to th e sen ten ce p ro v id ed f o r th e d ru g traf f ick in g crim e, a p erso n w h o v io lates su b sectio n (b ) o f th is sectio n is g u ilty

o f a f elo n y an d o n co n v ictio n is su b

j ect to :

(i) f o r a f irst v io latio n , im

p riso n m en t f

o r n o t less th an 5 y ears an d n o t

ex ceed in g 2 0 y ears; o r

(ii) f o r each su b seq u en t v io latio n , imp riso n m en t f o r n o t less th an 1 0

y ears an d n o t ex ceed in g 2 0 y ears.

(2 ) (i) T h e co u rt sh all im p o se a m in im

u m sen ten ce o f 5 y ears u n d er

p arag rap h (1 )(i) o f

th is su b sectio n

.

(ii) T h e co u rt sh all imp o s e a mi n im u m sen ten ce o f 1 0 y ears u n d er

p arag rap h (1 )(ii) o f

th is su b sectio n

.

(3 )(i) A co u rt m ay n o t su sp en d an y p art o f a m an d ato ry m in im u m

sen ten ce.

(ii) E x cep t as p ro v id ed in § 4 -3 0 5 o f th e C o rrectio n al S erv ices A rticle,

a p erso n sen ten ced u n d er th is su b sectio n is n o t elig ib le f o r p aro le.

(iii) A sen ten ce im

p o sed u n d er p ara g rap h (1 )(ii) o f th is su b sectio n sh all

b e co n secu tiv e to an d n o t co n cu rren t w ith an y o th er sen ten ce imp o s e d b y

2 6v irtu e o f th e co m m issio n o f

th e d ru g traf

f ick in g crim e.

C rim . L aw § 5 -6 2 1

.

A t th e tim e o f

sen ten cin g in th is case, P .S . § 5 -2 0 6 p ro v id ed :

(a) In g en era l.

– A p erso n m ay n o t p o s s e s s a rif le o r sh o tg u n if th e

p erso n w as p rev io u sly

co n v icted o f

:

(1 ) a crim e o f

v io len ce; o r

(2 ) a v io latio n o f § 5

– 6 0 2

, § 5

– 6 0 3

, § 5

– 6 0 4

, § 5

– 6 0 5

, § 5

– 6 1 2

, §

5

– 6 1 3 , o r § 5

– 6 1 4 o f

th e C rim in al L aw A rticle; o r

(3 ) an o f f en se u n d er th e law s o f an o th er state o r th e U n ited S tates th at

w o u ld co n stitu te o n e o f th e crim es listed in item (1 ) o r (2 ) o f th is su b sectio n if co m m itted in th is S tate.

(b ) P en a lty.

–

A p erso n w h o v io lates th is sectio n is g u ilty o f a f elo n y

an d o n co n v ictio n is su b

j ect to im p riso n m en t n o t ex ceed in g 1 5 y ears.

(c) V io la tio n i s sep a ra te crim e.

– E ach v io latio n o f th is su b sectio n is

a sep arate crime.

P .S . § 5 -2 0 6

.

C learly

, th e o f

f en ses d o n o t m erg e u n d er th e req u ired ev id en ce test. “ U n d e r f e d e r a l

d o u b l e j e o p a r d y p r i n c i p l e s a n d M a r y l a n d m e r g e r l a w , ‘ t h e p r i n c i p a l t e s t f o r d e t e r m i n i n g t h e

i d e n t i t y o f o f

f e n s e s i s t h e r e q u i r e d e v i d e n c e t e s t

. ’ T h e r e q u i r e d e v i d e n c e t e s t p r o h i b i t s

s e p a r a t e s e n t e n c e s f

o r e a c h o f

f e n s e i f o n l y o n e o f

f e n s e r e q u i r e s p r o o f o f a f a c t w h i c h t h e

o t h e r d o e s n o t

. ” C h r i s t i a n v

. S t a t e , 4 0 5 M d

. 3 0 6

, 3 2 1 ( 2 0 0 8 ) ( q u o t i n g D i x o n v

. S t a t e , 3 6 4

M d

. 2 0 9

, 2 6

- 3 7 ( 2 0 0 1 ) )

. E ach o f f en se in th is case in clu d es d if f eren t elem en ts. F o r in stan ce,

C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 2 1 req u ires t h e i l l e g al p o ssessio n o f a f irearm to b e in co n n ectio n w ith a

2 7d r u g traf

f ick in g o f f en se. P .S

. § 5 -2 0 6 req u ires th e illeg al p o ssessio n o f a rif le o r sh o tg u n

to b e b y a p erso n p rev io u sly

co n v icted o f

a d isq u alif

y in g o f f en se.

R eco g n izin g th is, ap p ellan t co n ten d s th e sen ten ces m erg e u n d er th e ru le o f len ity o r

th e p rin cip le o f

f u n d am en tal f

airn ess. T h i s C o u r t s t a t e d t h e r u l e o f l e n i t y a s f o l l o w s :

“ E v e n t h o u g h t w o o f

f e n s e s d o n o t m e r g e u n d e r t h e r e q u i r e d e v i d e n c e t e s t

, t h e r e a r e n e v e r t h e l e s s t i m e s w h e n t h e o f f e n s e s w i l l n o t b e p u n i s h e d s e p a r a t e l y

. T w o c r i m e s c r e a t e d b y l e g i s l a t i v e e n a c t m e n t m a y n o t b e p u n i s h e d s e p a r a t e l y
i f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d f o r t h e o f f e n s e s t o b e p u n i s h e d b y o n e s e n t e n c e

. I t

i s w h e n w e a r e u n c e r t a i n w h e t h e r t h e l e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d o n e o r m o r e t h a n o n e

s e n t e n c e t h a t w e m a k e u s e o f a n a i d t o s t a t u t o r y i n t e r p r e t a t i o n k n o w n a s t h e

‘ r u l e o f l e n i t y

. ’ U n d e r t h a t r u l e , i f w e a r e u n s u r e o f t h e l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t i n

p u n i s h i n g o f

f e n s e s a s a s i n g l e m e r g e d c r i m e o r a s d i s t i n c t o f f e n s e s , w e , i n

e f f e c t

, g i v e t h e d e f

e n d a n t t h e b e n e f

i t o f t h e d o u b t a n d h o l d t h a t t h e c r i m e s d o

m e r g e

. ”

C l a r k v

. S t a t e , 1 8 8 M d

. A p p

. 1 8 5

, 2 0 7

- 2 0 8 ( 2 0 0 9 ) ( q u o t i n g M o n o k e r v

. S t a t e , 3 2 1 M d

. 2 1 4

,

2 2 2 ( 1 9 9 0 ) )

.

T h e p rio r v ersio n o f C rim

. L aw § 5

- 6 2 1

, A rticle 2 7 § 2 8 1 A

, a statu te th at d id n o t

p ro h ib it th e m ere p o ssessio n o f a f irearm in co n n ectio n w ith a d ru g traf f ick in g o f f en se, w as

en acted in 1 9 8 9 as p art o f th e D r u g K in g p in A ct. A s th e C o u rt o f A p p eals ex p lain ed in

co n sid erin g th at p rio r v ersio n :

Its p u rp o se w as “ t o r e d u ce th e su p p ly o f d ru g s in M ary lan d b y estab lish in g h arsh e r p e n alties f

o r d ru g d ealers an d b y d ecreasin g th e p ro f itab ility o f

p articip atio n in a d ru g traf f ick in g crim e.” F lo o r R e p o r t f o r S .B

. 4 0 0

. T h at

p u rp o se is sim ilar to th at atten d in g t h e p a s sag e, in 1 9 7 1

, o f th e M ary lan d

C o n tro lled D an g ero u s S u b stan ce A ct: “to tu rn th e screw o f th e c rim in al

mach in ery

— d etectio n , p ro secu tio n an d p u n ish m en t— tig h ter an d tig h ter.”

C u n n in g h a m v. S ta te , 3 1 8 M d . 1 8 2 , 1 8 9 (1 9 8 9 ).

H a rris v. S ta te , 3 3 1 M d . 1 3 7 , 1 5 0 -5 1 (1 9 9 3 ).

2 8T h e F lo o r R ep o rt f o r th e S en ate B ill co n tin u es:

T h e f irearm s co m

p o n e n t o f th e b ill is b ased o n th e reco g n itio n th at
f irearm s are read ily av ailab le an d th at th o se in v o lv ed in d ru g t r a f f i ck in g crim es are q u it e w i l l i n g to u se su ch w eap o n s to reso lv e d isp u tes w ith th eir

riv als o r t h e i r cu sto m ers. T estim o n y in d icated th at th ere h as o v er th e y ears b een a d ram atic in crease in th e n u m b er o f d ru g related h o m icid es esp ecially

am o n g in n o cen t v ictim s.

F lo o r R ep o rt, S en ate B ill 4 0 0 , S en ate Ju d icial P ro ceed in g s C o m m ittee (1 9 8 9 ).

P .S

. § 5 -2 0 6 w as en acted in 2 0 1 1 as p art o f th e R es t r i c t i o n s A g ain st U se an d

P o ssessio n o f F irearm s. 2 0 1 1 M d

. L aw s ch s. 1 6 4

, 1 6 5

. T h e b ill w as d esig n ed t o c l o s e

lo o p h o les in th e P u b lic S af ety article to en su re th at th e p en alties ap p licab le to illeg al u se an d

p o s s e s sio n o f h an d g u n s also ap p lied eq u ally to th o se th at u sed o r p o ssessed rif l e s o r

sh o tg u n s:

T h is b ill b rin g s state law clo ser to f ed eral law

, u n d er 1 8 U .S .C

. S ectio n 9 2 2

, w h ich p ro h ib its th e p o ssessio n o f an y f irearm o r am m

u n itio n b y a p erso n

co n v i c t e d in an y co u rt o f a crim e p u n ish ab le b y im p riso n m en t f

o r a term

ex ceed in g o n e y ear.

F iscal an d P o licy

N o te (R ev ised ), S en ate B ill 1 7 4 , D ep artm en t o f L eg islativ e S erv ices.

M u ch o f th e S en ate B ill co n c e r n e d ex p an d in g th e p ro h ib itio n o f th e illeg al u se o f

h an d g u n s to rif

les an d sh o tg u n s. T estim o n y in su p p o rt o f co m p an io n H o u se B ill 2 4 1 also

ack n owl e dge d t

he ne e d t o e xpa

nd pro h ib itio n o f illeg al p o ssessio n to th ese so rts o f w eap o n s.

F o r in stan ce:

We b eliev e th is leg islatio n is n eed ed

, as p art o f th at b ro ad er strateg y , to in crease the p ro b ab ility th at an arrest f o r illeg al g u n p o ssessio n w ill resu lt

in co n v ictio n s th at w ill tak e crim in als o f f th e street an d serv e as a d eterren t,

w h ich is m issin g to d ay , ag ain st f u tu re v io len t crim es.

2 9T estim o n y i n S u p p o rt o f H o u se B ill 2 4 1 b y P resid en ts o f Jo h n s H o p k in s U n iv ersity

,

U n iv ersity o f M ary lan d

, an d M o rg an S tate U n iv ersity

, H o u se Ju d iciary C o m m ittee (M arch

8 , 2 0 1 1 ).

F u rth er, th e H o u se Ju d iciary C o m m ittee h eard th e f

o llo w in g :

B altim o re’s ef

f o rts to red u ce illeg al g u n p o ssessio n co u ld y ield g reater
red u ctio n s in sh o o tin g s if o f f en d ers co n v icted o f illeg al g u n p o ssessio n f ace stif f er p en alties. L ast y ear, 4 4 % o f B altim o re’s h o m icid e su sp ects h ad p rio r

arrests f o r illeg al g u n p o ssessio n

. B u t to o m an y o f th ese o f f en d ers sp en t little

tim e in j ail f

o llo w in g co n v icti o n s

. R esearch h as sh o w n th at th e n u m b er o f

p ri o r g u n o f

f en ses is o n e o f th e b est p red icto rs f o r w h ich o f

f en d ers

su b seq u en tly

m u rd er.

S tu d ies w h ich h av e ex am in ed th e ef f ects o f sen ten ce en h an cem en ts f o r illeg al g u n p o ssessio n o n city crim e rates h av e f o u n d th at th ese p o licies ten d

to lead to red u ctio n s in g u n v io len ce. Wh en cities co m b in e stif f er sen ten ces f o r g u n crim e w ith f

o cu sed d eterren ce o f illeg al g u n p o ssessio n research h as sh o w n ev en m o re d ram atic red u ctio n s in h o m icid e.

T estim o n y in S u p p o rt o f H o u se B ill 2 4 1 b y D an iel W. Web ster, P ro f esso r an d C o -D irecto r,

C en ter f o r G u n P o licy

an d R esearch , B lo o m

b erg S ch o o l o f P u b lic H ealth

, Jo h n s H o p k in s

U n iv ersity , H o u se Ju d iciary C o m m ittee (M arch 8 , 2 0 1 1 ) (f o o tn o tes o m itted ).

A d d itio n ally

, th ere w as th e f o llo w in g testim o n y f

ro m th e B altim o re C ity P o lice

C o m m issio n er:

[ T ] h e b ill ex p an d s th e cu rren t p ro h ib itio n ag ain st th e p o ssessio n o f reg u lated

f irearm s to in clu d e lo n g g u n s an d sh o tg u n s b y t h o s e p erso n s w h o h av e

p rev io u sly b een co n v icted o f a crim e o f v io len ce an d C D S f elo n y crim es an d

stren g th en s th e cu rren t p en alty p ro v isio n asso ciated w ith th is crim e.

* * *

Wh ile th e b ill w o u ld h av e statew id e ap p licab ility

, it w i l l h a v e a

3 0sig n if ican t im p act in B altim o re C ity

. In 2 0 1 0

, th e B altim o re P o lice

D ep artm en t seized 6 4 7 lo n g g u n s w h ich acco u n ted f o r o v er 2 7 % o f th e to tal

f irearm s reco v ered

. S in ce 2 0 0 8

, t h e D e p artm en t h as seized o v er 2 0 0 0 lo n g

g u n s an d 9 8 assau lt w eap o n s. E ach y ear th ere are in cid en ts, in c l u d i n g th e crim es o f ag g rav ated assau lt an d ro b b ery , w h ich are p erp etrated w ith lo n g

g u n s, sh o tg u n s, o r assau lt w eap o n s. . . .

. . . M ary lan d law (P S 5 -1 3 3 ( c ) ) cu rren tly p en alizes o n ly th e

p o sse s sio n o f a reg u lated f irearm (h an d g u n s an d assau lt w eap o n s) w h en

p o ssessed b y p ro h ib ited o f f e n d e r s an d th ere is n o sim ilar p ro v isio n in

M ary lan d law if

a p ro h ib ited p erso n p o ssesses a sh o tg u n o r lo n g g u n

.

* * *

T h e ex p an sio n o f t h e p ro h ib itio n s p ro p o sed in H B 2 4 1 to in clu d e all

f irearm s an d th e re v i s i o n s to th e sen ten cin g stru ctu re w o u ld also su p p o rt

B altim o re’s ef

f o rts to crack d o w n o n illeg al g u n s an d g u n v io len ce. M ary lan d

h as th e resp o n sib ility to k eep all f irearm s f ro m co n v icted f

elo n s an d to im

p o se

stro n g p en alties th at tak e in to co n sid eratio n th e p rio r crim in al h isto ry o f th ese

o f f en d ers f o r th ese v io latio n s.

T estim o n y o f F red erick H

. B ealef eld

, III, B altim o re C ity P o lice C o m m issio n er, in S u p p o rt

o f H o u se B ill 2 4 1 , H o u se Ju d iciary C o m m ittee (M arch 8 , 2 0 1 1 ) (em p h asis o m itted ).

We h av e f

o u n d n o th i n g i n t h e leg islativ e h isto ry su g g estin g th at th e G en eral

A ssem b ly m ean t f

o r th ese tw o o f

f en ses, C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 2 1

, a n d P

. S

. § 5 -2 0 6

, to m erg e

u n d e r th e ru le o f len ity

. B o th law s w ere en acted to ex p an d crim in al cu lp ab ility f o r th e

illeg al p o ssessio n o f f

irearm s u n d er th eir resp ectiv e circu m stan ces. A s th e C o u rt o f A p p eals

h as stated

, “it is m o st u n lik ely th at th e G en e r al A ssem b ly w o u ld p ro m

u lg ate, o n th e o n e

h an d

, a statu to ry sch em e d esig n ed

, in p art, to in crease senten ces, w h ile, o n th e o th er h an d

,

an d at th e sam e tim e, in ten d in g th at th e d o ctrin e o f m erg er w o u ld ap p ly an d

, th ereb y , red u ce

th e to tal sen ten ces.” P

ye v. S ta te

, 3 9 7 M d

. 6 2 6

, 6 3 7 (2 0 0 7 ). In d eed

, th e sen ten cin g stru ctu re

3 1o f b o th o f

f en ses are d istin ct, as C rim

. L aw § 5 -6 2 1 calls f o r m an d ato ry m in im

u m sen ten ces

w h ile P .S

. § 5 -2 0 6 p ro v id es f o r u p to 1 5 y ears an d sp ecif ically m an d ates th at each v io latio n

o f th at su b sectio n is a sep arate crime.

M o reo v er, as arg u e d b y t h e S tate, Jo h n so n v. S ta te

, 1 5 4 M d

. A p p

. 2 8 6 (2 0 0 3 ), is

in stru ctiv e. T h ere, th is C o u rt d eclin ed to m erg e sen ten ces f o r u se o f a f

irearm in relatio n to

d ru g traf f ick in g an d th e u n law f

u l w e a r i n g , carry in g , o r tran sp o rtin g o f a h an d g u n , u n d er

eith er th e req u ired ev id en ce test o r as a resu lt o f leg islativ e in ten t. Jo h n so n , 1 5 4 M d

. A p p

.

at 3 1 1

. In d eed

, w h at th is C o u rt stated in reg ard s to th e h an d g u n o f f en se at issu e in Jo h n so n

ap p lies eq u ally

h ere to th e illeg al p o ssessio n o f a rif le o f f en se:

T h e ru le o f len ity

, h o w ev er, ap p lies o n ly w h en crim in al statu tes are

am b ig u o u s. T h ere is n o am b ig u ity in th ese statu tes. T h e L e g i s l a t u re’s

co n cern ab o u t th e u se an d p o ssessio n o f h an d g u n s, an d its ad d itio n al co n cern ab o u t t h e ag g rav atin g circu m stan ce o f w eap o n s b ein g u sed b y p erso n s

tra n s a c t i n g in d ru g s, is ap p aren t. B ecau se w e are p ersu ad ed th at th e
L eg islatu re in ten d ed to au th o rize th e im p o sitio n o f a sep arate p u n ish m en t f o r each o f th e o f

f en ses at issu e, Ju d g e H en n eg an d id n o t e r r o r ab u se h is

d iscretio n w h en he r e fus e d t o m e r ge ap p ellan t’s “u n law f u l w earin g ” an d “u se”

co n v ictio n s f

o r p u rp o ses o f

sen ten cin g

.

Id . at 3 1 2

.

N o r are w e p ersu ad ed th at th e sen ten ces m erg e u n d er p rin cip le s o f f u n d am en tal

f airn ess. In d eed

, w e q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r t h i s a r g u m e n t w a s p r o p e r l y p r e s e n t e d t o u s

c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t

, o t h e r t h a n a b r i e f c i t a t i o n t o t h e d o c t r i n e , a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t a d e q u a t e l y

b r i e f e d t h e i s s u e

. S e e B ert v. C o m p tro ller o f th e T rea su ry , 2 1 5 M d

. A p p

. 2 4 4

, 2 6 9 n

. 1 5

(2 0 1 3 ) ( “ A p p e l l a n t ’ s ‘ a r g u m e n t ’ c o u l d a l s o b e r e j e c t e d o u t o f h a n d b e c a u s e i t i s i n a d e q u a t e l y

3 2b r i e f

e d ” )

.

I n a n y e v e n t

, w e r e w e t o c o n s i d e r t h e d o c t r i n e , t h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l s h a s e x p l a i n e d

t h a t

[ i ] n d e c i d i n g w h e t h e r f u n d a m e n t a l f

a i r n e s s r e q u i r e s m e r g e r , w e h a v e l o o k e d

t o w h e t h e r t h e t w o c r i m e s a r e “ p a r t a n d p a r c e l ” o f o n e a n o t h e r , s u c h t h a t o n e

c r i m e i s “ a n i n t e g r a l c o m p o n e n t ” o f t h e o t h e r

. M o n o k e r , 3 2 1 M d

. a t 2 2

. T h i s
i n q u i r y i s “ f

a c t

- d r i v e n ” b e c a u s e i t d e p e n d s o n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s

s u r r o u n d i n g a d e f

e n d a n t ’ s c o n v i c t i o n s , n o t s o l e l y t h e m e r e e l e m e n t s o f t h e

c r i m e s

. P a i r v

. S t a t e , 2 0 2 M d

. A p p

. 6 1 7

, 6 4 5 ( 2 0 1 1 )

. [ ]

C a r r o l l v

. S t a t e , 4 2 8 M d

. 6 7 9

, 6 9 4

- 9 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) ( i n t e r n a l p a r a l l e l c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d )

. I l l e g a l

p o s s e s s i o n o f a r i f

l e b y a p e r s o n p r e v i o u s l y c o n v i c t e d o f a d i s q u a l i f y i n g o f f e n s e i s n o t “ p a r t

a n d p a r c e l ” o f a c a s e o f i l l e g a l p o s s e s s i o n o f a f i r e a r m u n d e r s u f

f i c i e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s t o

c o n s t i t u t e a n e x u s t o a d r u g t r a f f i c k i n g c r i m e

. O n e c o u l d b e c o n v i c t e d u n d e r e i t h e r s t a t u t e

s t a n d i n g a l o n e

. A n d

, u n d e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h i s c a s e , i n c l u d i n g , b u t n o t l i m i t e d t o t h e

p r e s e n c e o f a p p e l l a n t ’ s t w o

- y e a r

- o l d c h i l d i n a n a p a r t m e n t c o n t a i n i n g d r u g s a n d a l o a d e d

r i f l e , w e a r e n o t p e r s u a d e d t h a t i t w a s f u n d a m e n t a l l y u n f

a i r t o s e p a r a t e l y s e n t e n c e a p p e l l a n t

i n t h i s c a s e

.

T H E C O N VIC T IO N O N C O U N T 5
, P O S S E S S IO N O F B Z P
, R E V E R S E D

. T H E S E N T E N C E F O R T H E

C O N V I C T I O N O N C O U N T 6
, P O S S E S S I O N O F M A R I J U A N A
, VA C A T E D A N D R E M A N D E D F O R

R E S E N T E N C I N G

. J U D G M E N T S

O T H E R W IS E A F F IR M E D . C O S T S

T O B E A S S E S S E D 3 /

5 T O A P P E L L A

N T

A N D 2 /5 T O F R E D E R I C K C O U N T Y

.

3 3