Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/887-2d-549-md-617668903
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 15:59:05+00:00

Document:
Opinion Judge:  The opinion of the court was delivered by: Battaglia, J.
Party Name: Anthony GILMER v. STATE of Maryland.
Amy E. Brennan, Asst. Public Defender (Nancy S. Forster, Public Defender, on brief), Baltimore, for Petitioner.
Jeremy M. McCoy, Asst. Atty. General (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. General, on brief), Baltimore, for Respondent.
Is a nolle prosequi the equivalent of a "dismissal" for purposes of Criminal Procedure Article Section 6-218(b)(2) which requires a trial court to give credit at sentencing for pre-trial custody on an unrelated offense that results in a "dismissal or acquittal" where a warrant or commitment for the convicted offense was filed during that custody?
Gilmer v. State, 387 Md. 122, 874 A.2d 917 (2005). We hold that, under the circumstances of this case, a nolle prosequi is the equivalent of a "dismissal" for the purpose of Section 6-218(b)(2) of the Criminal Procedure Article.
On September 1, 2002, Anthony Gilmer was in pretrial detention at the Baltimore City Detention Center on a charge of attempted murder and had been at the Center since July 2, 2001, a period of 426 days. On September 1, 2002, Gilmer had an altercation with a fellow detainee, Jonathan Blue, over whose turn it was to use the telephone during "passive recreation" time in the "day room," a place where detainees are permitted to engage in activities such as playing cards, watching television, and using the telephone. Gilmer and Blue were [389 Md. 660] separated but then permitted to return to the day room, where Gilmer and Blue continued to argue, and Gilmer, thereafter, repeatedly stabbed Blue with a silver lock blade knife.
On June 13, 2003, a jury found Gilmer guilty of first and second-degree assault. At sentencing the Circuit Court judge merged the second degree assault into the first degree assault and sentenced Gilmer to fifteen years incarceration. The judge, however, refused to credit the 426 days of confinement [389 Md. 662] that Gilmer had already served on the attempted murder charges that had been nolle prossed by the State prior to sentencing. Gilmer filed an unsuccessful motion for a new trial prior to noting an appeal to the Court of Special Appeals.
Section 6-218(b)(3) 10 was applicable, and that, pursuant to Section 6-218(b)(3), which allows the court to exercise its discretion in determining whether to grant credit, the judge did not abuse his discretion. Id. at 31, 866 A.2d at 924. To hold otherwise, it noted, could potentially result in double credit received by Gilmer for time served were he later prosecuted for the attempted murder charges. Id. at 29, 866 A2d. at 923.
The construction of Sections 6-218(b)(2) and (b)(3) of the Criminal Procedure Article implicate a de novo review. Cain v. State, 386 Md. 320, 327, 872 A.2d 681, 685 (2005). Our goal, when interpreting statutes, is to "identify and effectuate the legislative intent underlying the statute(s) at issue." Id. ; Serio v. Baltimore County, 384 Md. 373, 863 A.2d 952, 962 (2004), quoting Drew v. First Guaranty Mortgage Corp., 379 [389 Md. 663] Md. 318, 327, 842 A.2d 1, 6 (2003), in turn quoting Derry v. State, 358 Md. 325, 335, 748 A.2d 478, 483 (2000)); Pete v. State, 384 Md. 47, 57-58, 862 A.2d 419, 425 (2004); Graves v. State, 364 Md. 329, 346, 772 A.2d 1225, 1235 (2001). The best source of legislative intent is the statute's plain language, and when the language is clear and unambiguous, our inquiry ordinarily ends there. Cain, 386 Md. at 327, 872 A.2d at 685; Serio, 384 Md. at 373, 863 A.2d at 962; Pete, 384 Md. at 57-58, 862 A.2d at 425; Drew, 379 Md. at 327, 842 A.2d at 6; Beyer v. Morgan State Uni versity, 369 Md. 335, 349, 800 A.2d 707, 715 (2002); Whack v. State, 338 Md. 665, 672, 659 A.2d 1347, 1350 (1995). when there is more than one reasonable interpretation of a statute, however, the statute is ambiguous. Moore v. State, 388 Md. 446, 453, 879 A.2d 1111, 1114 (2005); Melton v. State, 379 Md. 471, 476-77, 842 A.2d 743, 746 (2004). when the statutory language is ambiguous, we resolve that ambiguity in light of the legislative intent, considering the legislative history, case law, and statutory purpose. See Moore, 388 Md. at 453, 879 A.2d at 1114; Deville v. State, 383 Md. 217, 223, 858 A.2d 484, 487 (2004); Melton, 379 Md. at 476-77, 842 A.2d at 746. We consider not only the ordinary meaning of the words, but also how that language relates to the overall meaning, setting, and purpose of the act." Moore, 388 Md. at 453, 879 A.2d at 1114; Deville, 383 Md. at 223, 858 A.2d at 487. The statute's provisions must be read in "a commonsensical perspective to avoid a farfetched interpretation." Cain, 386 Md. at 328, 872 A.2d at 685, Serio, 384 Md. at 373, 863 A.2d at 962; Graves, 364 Md. at 346, 772 A.2d at 1235; Frost v. State, 336 Md. 125, 137, 647 A.2d 106, 112 (1994); Dickerson v. State, 324 Md. 163, 171, 596 A.2d 648, 652 (1991). We construe the statute as a whole so that no word, clause, sentence, or phrase is rendered surplusage, superfluous, meaningless, or nugatory. Moore, 388 Md. at 453, 79 A.2d at 1115; Comptroller v. Phillips, 384 Md. 583, 865 A.2d 590 (2005).
eliminate "dead time," 12 it is only proper that the word "dismissal" in Section 2-618(b)(2) of the Criminal Procedure Article be interpreted to include disposition of a case by nolle prosequi, even in the absence of a plea bargain relating to the charge, so that the trial judge was required to give him credit for the time he served in pre-trial detention for attempted murder. Additionally, he argues, Maryland Rule 4-247 makes clear that a nolle prosequi is a dismissal, and, the fact that a charge or charges can still be prosecuted after being nolle prossed is not dispositive because a dismissal also may permit prosecution. By enacting Section 2-618(b)(2), Gilmer asserts that Maryland created a liberty interest 13 for him to obtain credit for his time served and that denying him credit for time served is denying a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The State, conversely, contends that the Circuit Court properly exercised its discretion under Section 6-218(b)(3) in refusing to award Gilmer credit for his time served on the nolle prossed attempted murder charge because the plain meaning of Section 6-218(b)(2) refers only to an acquittal or dismissal, whereas Section 6-218(b)(3) refers to any case "other than a case described in paragraph (2)." The State argues that only a nolle prosequi entered as part of a plea agreement is the equivalent of a dismissal because the nolle prosequi then has the effect of precluding future prosecution and that to allow any nolle prosequi to constitute a dismissal [389 Md. 665] could create a windfall of double credit for the defendant if he or she were ever convicted of the initial offense which was originally nolle prossed. The State asserts that Section 6-218(b)(2) is clear; it does not list nolle prosequi, and thus, to interpret the word "dismissal" to include nolle prosequi would thereby render Section 6-218(b)(3) a nullity.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.