Opinion ID: 2314196
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Where Denied

Text: If such motion or petition is denied prior to trial of the criminal case, the pre-trial ruling shall be binding at the trial unless the trial judge, in the exercise of his discretion grants a hearing de novo on the defendant's renewal of his motion or objection. A pre-trial ruling, denying a motion or petition to suppress, exclude or return property seized, shall in any event be reviewable on appeal to the appropriate appellate court or on a hearing on a motion for a new trial. Maryland Rule 729 (1967). Reading Rule 729 in context, we conclude that the rule embodied the Rules Committee's May 22, 1964 statement of policy that a trial court's ruling on a suppression motion should be binding, with the limited exception that a court may use its discretion whether to reconsider a previously denied suppression motion, if the motion is renewed. The relevant language originally adopted as Rule 729(g) is embodied in current rule 4-252(h)(2) with relatively little change. In 1977, Rule 729 was replaced by Rule 736. See Fifty-Third Report of the Rules Committee, 3 Md. Reg. 8, 17 (1976) (proposing Rule 736); Rules Order dated January 31, 1977, 4 Md. Reg. 235 (1977) (adopting Rule 736). Rule 736 compressed Rule 729(g)(1) and Rule 729(g)(2) into a single subsection, and eliminated the requirement that the State return property when a motion to suppress is granted: If the court grants a motion to suppress evidence, the evidence shall be excluded and not be offered by the State at trial, except that suppressed evidence may be used in accordance with law for impeachment purposes. If the court denies a motion to suppress evidence, the ruling is binding at the trial unless the court, in the exercise of its discretion, grants a hearing de novo on a renewal of the motion. A pretrial ruling denying the motion to suppress is reviewable on a motion for a new trial or on appeal of a conviction. Maryland Rules of Procedure, Rule 736(f)(2) (1978). Rule 736(f)(2), however, preserved the distinction between the effects following a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence and the effects following the grant of such a motion. In 1985, Rule 4-252 replaced Rule 736, and Rule 736(f)(2) became Rule 4-252(g)(2). See Eighty-Seventh Report of the Rules Committee, 10 Md. Reg., Supp. to Issue 25, at S-1, S-23 (1983) (proposing Rule 4-252); Rules Order dated April 6, 1984, 11 Md. Reg., Supp. to Issue 9, at S-1, S-98 (1984) (adopting Rule 4-252). No significant alterations were made to Rule 4-252(g)(2). [3] In 1988, Rule 4-252(g)(2) was amended to provide that  ... [i]f the court denies a motion to suppress evidence, the ruling is binding at the trial unless the court, on the motion of a party and in the exercise of its discretion, grants a supplemental hearing or a hearing de novo ... and rules otherwise.  Rules Order of December 21, 1988, 16 Md. Reg. 59 (1989) (emphasis in original). This alteration made it possible for the State to reopen a suppression hearing following the denial of a defendant's motion to suppress. See Rules Committee Minutes, January 15, 1988, 9-11. Thus, the State is now able to supplement the suppression hearing's record in order to prevent a favorable ruling from being overturned on appeal. Id. No changes were made, however, to the provisions in Rule 4-252(g)(2) that specified the effects following a court's grant of a motion to suppress. In 1995, subsection (g)(2) of Rule 4-252 was moved to subsection (h)(2) without change. Our review of the history of Rule 4-252(h)(2) leads us to conclude that Long is correct. The express provision allowing a court to use its discretion as to whether it should reconsider its denial of a motion to suppress must be interpreted in light of the background goal that rulings on suppression motions be binding at trial. In this context, the absence of a similar provision allowing for reconsideration of a court's grant of a motion to suppress necessarily implies that the trial court lacks the authority to undertake such a reconsideration.