Opinion ID: 2322936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Mosley's Claim

Text: According to Mosley, his counsel was ineffective because he did not articulate as one of the bases for the motion for judgment of acquittal that the State did not prove that the air gun was a dangerous or deadly weapon. [12] In so doing, Mosley asks us to accept two premises: first, that the evidence was not sufficient to support his convictions of robbery with a dangerous or deadly weapon and wearing a dangerous or deadly weapon; and, second, that his counsel was ineffective per se as a result of his failure to articulate specific bases for the motion for judgment for acquittal. As we demonstrate below, we conclude that we cannot determine whether the evidence was sufficient and so, applying the test we elucidated in In re Parris W., we cannot evaluate on direct appeal whether or not his counsel provided ineffective assistance because critical facts are in dispute. In contrast to In re Parris W., the critical facts here are, without a doubt, in dispute. First, the weapon itself is now missing from the record. Second, after requesting affidavits to supplement the record at the Court of Special Appeals, Mosley now disputes the contents of one of those affidavits, disagreeing with the Assistant State's Attorney's description of the lost air gun's characteristics. [13] Yet, in spite of these problems with the critical facts, Mosley also argues that the face of the record is sufficient enough to support his assertion that the air gun was not a dangerous or deadly weapon-even as he attempted to suggest in his brief and at oral argument that the Assistant State Attorney's characterization of the air gun was incorrect. The following excerpt from oral argument more than indicates that the characteristics of the air gun were, and are, still at issue: Mosley: But I think on the face of this record it's very plain that the State didn't prove that this plastic toy gun could have been used as a bludgeon. There's no testimony about it's weight, about its heaviness, about its density. The fact that it's plastic in and of itself suggests that it was lightweight The Court: Well, plastic comes in kinds of varieties, there really are toy guns that can't hurt anybody but you can get plastic that can do a lot of damage.