Opinion ID: 2058036
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Existing Maryland Law

Text: The question of what to do when a defendant in a criminal case dies while an appeal of right is pending has been before this Court on a number of occasions. It first surfaced in Frank v. State, 189 Md. 591, 596, 56 A.2d 810, 812 (1948), where two defendants were convicted of bookmaking and appealed. One of the defendants, Frank, died while the appeal was pending. The Court found error in the admission of unlawfully seized evidence and, as to the other defendant, reversed and awarded a new trial. As to Frank, the Court said only his case abates and [h]is appeal will therefore be dismissed. The mandate was Judgment reversed as to David Mazor, and a new trial awarded. Appeal dismissed as to Ben Frank. In that case, of course, there could be no retrial of Frank in any event, so abatement was simply a recognition of reality. In announcing that result, the Court cited List v. Pennsylvania, 131 U.S. 396, 9 S.Ct. 794, 33 L.Ed. 222 (1888) and Menken v. Atlanta, 131 U.S. 405, 9 S.Ct. 794, 33 L.Ed. 221 (1889), both criminal cases in which the appellant died while appeals were pending before the Supreme Court on writ of error, in which the Court, when apprised of the death, stated that the cause has abated and dismissed the writ of error. The issue arose again in Porter v. State, 293 Md. 330, 444 A.2d 50 (1982) and Thomas v. State, 294 Md. 625, 451 A.2d 929 (1982). In both cases, the appellant died after his conviction had been affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals and while the matter was pending in this Court following the grant of certiorari. On consent motions, in one case filed by the State and in the other by defense counsel, in which both sides stipulated that the convictions should be vacated and the indictments dismissed as moot, this Court granted that relief. In Jones v. State, 302 Md. 153, 486 A.2d 184 (1985), however, where that issue was contested, we declined to follow Porter and Thomas and instead adopted the Supreme Court's view in Dove v. United States, supra, 423 U.S. 325, 96 S.Ct. 579, 46 L.Ed.2d 531, that, when the death occurs following an affirmance of the conviction and while the matter is pending discretionary review, the proper response is simply to dismiss the appellate proceeding as moot and allow the trial court judgment, as affirmed, to stand. When Jones was decided, the clear majority rule, in both the Federal and State courts, was that, when death occurs during the pendency of an appeal of right, the entire criminal proceeding should be abated. Many of the cases departing from that view had not yet been decided; only two, State v. Morris, supra, 328 So.2d 65, and Whitehouse v. State, supra, 266 Ind. 527, 364 N.E.2d 1015, were even mentioned, in a footnote, 302 Md. at 157, n. 1, 486 A.2d at 186, n. 1. After reviewing the cases distinguishing appeals of right from cases pending discretionary review, the Court announced its agreement with that distinction and observed: Where the deceased criminal defendant has not had the one appeal to which he is statutorily entitled, it may not be fair to let his conviction stand. But, on the other hand, where the right of appeal has been accorded and the Court of Special Appeals has decided that there was no reversible error, no unfairness results in leaving the conviction intact even though an application for further review has not been resolved when the defendant dies. The mere possibility that this Court might have reversed the conviction is not sufficient ground to order dismissal of the entire indictment. Id. at 158, 486 A.2d at 187. In Russell v. State, 310 Md. 96, 527 A.2d 34 (1987), the issue arose in a different context. After a verdict of guilty was returned, the trial court granted the defendant's motion for new trial. The defendant then moved to dismiss the indictment, contending that the grant of a new trial amounted to a determination that the evidence presented at the first trial was legally insufficient and a retrial would constitute placing him in double jeopardy. That motion was denied, an appeal was taken, the Court of Special Appeals affirmed, this Court granted certiorari, and the defendant died while the case was pending here. Distinguishing Jones, we concluded that there had never been a judgment of conviction and that, when Russell died, his status was that of a defendant awaiting trial. Without citing any authority, the Court stated that [w]here the accused dies while awaiting prosecution or while a direct appeal is pending, the prosecution will abate, and if there has been a conviction it will be abated. (Emphasis added). The italicized language is, of course, relevant in these appeals, although it was obviously dicta in Russell. The case that clearly places Maryland in the abatement camp is Trindle v. State, 326 Md. 25, 602 A.2d 1232 (1992). Trindle was convicted in Circuit Court and appealed to the Court of Special Appeals. As is the case with Surland, we granted certiorari prior to any decision by the intermediate appellate court and Trindle died while the case was pending here. Noting that fact and citing only Jones, which was not directly on point, we held that all issues [Trindle] had raised are moot and that, as he had not had the one appeal to which he was entitled, his convictions and sentences shall be vacated, and the cases remanded with directions to dismiss the criminal informations filed against him as moot. Id. at 30, 602 A.2d at 1234. The question now before us is whether to overrule that aspect of Trindle and adopt a different approach.