Opinion ID: 2322936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Maryland's Uniform Post Conviction Procedure Act

Text: We have explained on numerous occasions that a post-conviction proceeding pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Post Conviction Procedure Act, Maryland Code, § 7-102 of the Criminal Procedure Article (2001), [4] is the most appropriate way to raise the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. In re Parris W., 363 Md. at 726, 770 A.2d at 207; Ware v. State, 360 Md. 650, 706, 759 A.2d 764, 793 (2000); Perry v. State, 344 Md. 204, 227, 686 A.2d 274, 285 (1996); Walker v. State, 338 Md. 253, 262, 658 A.2d 239, 243, cert. denied, 516 U.S. 898, 116 S.Ct. 254, 133 L.Ed.2d 179 (1995); Stewart v. State, 319 Md. 81, 92, 570 A.2d 1229, 1234 (1990); Johnson v. State, 292 Md. 405, 434, 439 A.2d 542, 559 (1982); State v. Zimmerman, 261 Md. 11, 24-25, 273 A.2d 156, 163 (1971). The Act allows the convicted person to attack the judgment collaterally by challenging the legality of the conviction and incarceration in a separate evidentiary proceeding. [5] See Perry v. State, 357 Md. 37, 72, 741 A.2d 1162, 1181 (1999); Davis v. State, 285 Md. 19, 22, 400 A.2d 406, 407 (1979). A post-conviction proceeding, often called a collateral proceeding, brought under the Act is not an appeal of the judgment; rather, it is a collateral attack designed to address alleged constitutional, jurisdictional, or other fundamental violations that occurred at trial. See Code, § 7-102 of the Criminal Procedure Article; Maryland State Bar Ass'n v. Kerr, 272 Md. 687, 689-90, 326 A.2d 180, 181 (1974)(explaining that a post-conviction proceeding in Maryland does not constitute a part of the original criminal cause, but is an independent and collateral civil inquiry into the validity of the conviction and sentence). Ineffective assistance of counsel is one of the claims cognizable under the Act, and it is the one most commonly raised. Perry, 357 Md. at 72-73 & 74 n. 10, 741 A.2d at 1181 & 1182 n. 10 (finding that the claim of evidentiary error fell within the Act's purview and noting also that other claims allowed under the Act include, among others, whether counsel rendered ineffective assistance, whether the prosecution suppressed exculpatory evidence, whether the government violated terms of a plea agreement, whether there was a failure to place on the trial record the factual basis of a guilty plea, whether there was use of perjured police testimony, whether the evidence was pursuant to an unlawful arrest, and whether a confession was erroneously admitted). When a defendant attacks a criminal judgment on the basis of denial of effective assistance of counsel, the Act thus provides the defendant with the possibility of an evidentiary hearing, reflecting a recognition that adequate procedures exist at the trial level, as distinguished from the appellate level, for taking testimony, receiving evidence, and making factual findings thereon concerning the allegations of error. Wilson v. State, 284 Md. 664, 675, 399 A.2d 256, 262 (1979). Post-conviction proceedings are preferred with respect to ineffective assistance of counsel claims because the trial record rarely reveals why counsel acted or omitted to act, and such proceedings allow for fact-finding and the introduction of testimony and evidence directly related to allegations of the counsel's ineffectiveness. [6] Walker, 338 Md. at 262, 658 A.2d at 243; Johnson, 292 Md. at 434-35, 439 A.2d at 559; see, e.g., Redman v. State, 363 Md. 298, 302, 768 A.2d 656, 658 (2001)(agreeing that the defendant was denied effective assistance of counsel where counsel failed to seek a change of venue and noting that, at the post-conviction hearing, the defendant's counsel admitted that he was unaware that a capital defendant has the right of automatic removal of the case to another county); Oken v. State, 343 Md. 256, 286-87, 681 A.2d 30, 41 (1996)(agreeing with the post-conviction court's findings that there was no ineffective assistance of counsel when counsel did not introduce evidence related to the defendant's alcohol and drug abuse and noting specifically counsel's explanation in the post-conviction hearing and his tactical reasons for not including such evidence). As we shall explore, the trial record clearly must illuminate why counsel's actions were ineffective because, otherwise, the Maryland appellate courts would be entangled in the perilous process of second-guessing without the benefit of potentially essential information. Johnson, 292 Md. at 435, 439 A.2d at 559 (quoting People v. Miller, 7 Cal.3d 562, 102 Cal.Rptr. 841, 848, 498 P.2d 1089 (1972)). As the Supreme Court recently explained, such second-guessing on the appellate court's part may compromise the Strickland analysis: When an ineffective-assistance claim is brought on direct appeal, appellate counsel and the court must proceed on a trial record not developed precisely for the object of litigating or preserving the claim and thus often incomplete or inadequate for this purpose.... The evidence introduced at trial ... will be devoted to issues of guilt or innocence, and the resulting record in many cases will not disclose the facts necessary to decide either prong of the Strickland analysis. If the alleged error is one of commission, the record may reflect the action taken by counsel but not the reasons for it.... And evidence of alleged conflicts of interest might be found only in attorney-client correspondence or other documents that, in the typical criminal trial, are not introduced. Without additional factual development, moreover, an appellate court may not be able to ascertain whether the alleged error was prejudicial. Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 123 S.Ct. 1690, 1694, 155 L.Ed.2d 714, 720-21 (2003) (internal citations omitted). Therefore, the adversarial process found in a post-conviction proceeding generally is the preferable method in order to evaluate counsel's performance, as it reveals facts, evidence, and testimony that may be unavailable to an appellate court using only the original trial record. Walker, 338 Md. at 262, 658 A.2d at 243.