Court Opinion

ID: 9693554
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:49:35.721755+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:48.393105
License: Public Domain

Davidson, J.,

dissenting:

In my view, a judgment pending on appeal is not sufficently probative to establish that a probationer committed the crime of which he was convicted and, therefore, is not admissible to show that the probationer *372violated the special condition of his probation that he obey all laws. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
In Maryland, it has been recognized that for certain purposes a judgment pending on appeal is not final until after the appeal has been decided. Maryland State Bar Ass’n v. Kerr, 272 Md. 687, 689, 326 A.2d 180, 181 (1974); Green v. State, 170 Md. 134, 142, 183 A. 526, 530 (1936); Butler v. State, 56 Md.App. 317, 322, 416 A.2d 773, 776 (1980). Maryland State Bar Association v. Kerr, 272 Md. at 688, 690, 326 A.2d at 181, involved the use of a conviction pending on appeal in an attorney disciplinary proceeding. There this Court interpreted the meaning of "final judgment” as used in then Md. Rule BV4 f 1 (now Md. Rule BV10 e 1) which stated in pertinent part:
"[A] fínal judgment by a judicial tribunal in another proceeding convicting an attorney of a crime shall be conclusive proof of the guilt of the attorney of such crime.” (Emphasis added.)
The Court held that under Rule BV4 f 1, a final judgment did not exist until "all avenues of direct appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence are no longer open to the defendant.”
Butler v. State, 46 Md.App. 317, 318, 321-22, 416 A.2d 773, 774, 775-76 (1980), involved the use of a conviction pending on appeal in a sentencing proceeding. There an accused was convicted of robbery and sentenced under Md. Code (1957, 1976 Repl.Vol., 1980 Cum.Supp.), Art. 27, § 643B (c),1 a statute that enhances punishment for *373recidivists. In determining sentence, the trial court considered two prior convictions, one of which was then pending on appeal. The Court of Special Appeals held that it was improper to take the conviction then pending on appeal into account for the purpose of applying enhanced punishment under § 643B (c) because that conviction was not final until the appeal was decided. Courts in some other jurisdictions agree. See, e.g., United States v. Allen, 566 F.2d 1193, 1195 (3d Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 926, 98 S.Ct. 1491 (1978); State v. Palmer, 5 Ariz. App. 192, 194, 424 P.2d 840, 842 (1967); Joyner v. State, 158 Fla. 806, 808-09, 30 So.2d 304, 305 (1947); Croker v. Smith, 225 Ga. 529, 532, 169 S.E.2d 787, 789-90 (1969); Neal v. Commonwealth, 221 Ky. 239, 242-45, 298 S.W. 704, 705-07 (1927); Carter v. State, 510 S.W.2d 323, 324 (Tex.Crim. 1974); Arbuckle v. State, 132 Tex.Crim.App. 371, 372-77, 105 S.W.2d 219, 219-22 (1937).
In addition, the Legislature has established that a conviction pending on appeal is not admissible in evidence for impeachment purposes. Thus, Md. Code (1974, 1980 Repl. Vol.) § 10-905 (a) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article provides in pertinent part:
"Evidence of conviction is not admissible if an appeal is pending, or the time for an appeal has not expired....”
Bailey v. State, 263 Md. 424, 427-28, 283 A.2d 360, 361-62 (1971), involved the use of a conviction for which the time for appeal had not expired for purposes of impeachment. There this Court, relying on the predecessor of § 10-905 (a), held that it was prejudicial error to admit evidence of such a prior conviction.
The underlying rationale for the conclusion that a conviction pending on appeal is inadmissible in cases involving attorney disciplinary actions under Md. Rule BV10 e 1, the enhancement of punishment, or the impeachment of the credibility of witnesses is that such a conviction is not probative because it is subject to reversal. See 22 Md.L.Rev. 244, 245 (1962). This rationale compels the conclusion that a conviction pending on appeal is not sufficiently probative *374to establish that a probationer committed the crime of which he was convicted and, therefore, is not admissible to show that the probationer violated a special condition of probation that he obey all laws. Some courts in a minority of jurisdictions agree. See, e.g., Ledee v. State, 342 So.2d 100, 100 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1977); Stoner v. State, 566 P.2d 142, 143 (Okla.Crim. 1977); Kern v. State, 521 P.2d 412, 415 (Okla.Crim. 1974); Long v. State, 590 S.W.2d 138, 139 (Tex.Crim. 1979). See also ABA Standards for Criminal Justice Relating to Probation § 5.3 (Approved Draft 1970).
I do not agree with the majority’s assertion that "[although a conviction which is not final does not constitute conclusive proof of guilt, we think the balance must be struck in favor of permitting the trial judge to revoke probation if satisfied that the ends of justice so require.” In weighing the protection to be accorded to societal interests against the fairness to be accorded to a probationer, I would strike the balance by holding that it is reversible error for a trial court to revoke probation on the sole ground that the probationer violated a condition requiring him to obey all laws when the only evidence presented is a conviction pending on appeal. Moreover, I do not agree with the majority that as a consequence, a person who is placed on probation and who commits another crime while on probation is "insulated from having his probation revoked during the frequently extended process of appellate review.” The fact that a judgment of conviction pending on appeal may not serve as the only evidence supporting the revocation of probation does not prevent probation from being revoked while an appeal is pending. If it is shown by independent, probative evidence that the probationer has committed a crime subsequent to his probation and the trial court is reasonably satisfied by that evidence that the probationer committed the crime, probation may be revoked on the sole ground that the probationer violated the special condition of his probation that he obey all laws even though an appeal is pending. Scott v. State, 238 Md. 265, 272, 208 A.2d 575, 578-79 (1965). More important, the societal interest in incarceration of an accused pending appeal can better be. *375preserved through a trial court’s initial refusal to allow bail pending the appeal.
In addition, the majority offers no guidance as to the procedures to be followed when a conviction that constituted the sole basis for revocation of probation is subsequently reversed on appeal. Under the majority’s holding that it is not reversible error for a trial court to revoke probation on the sole basis of a subsequent conviction pending on appeal, a probationer has nothing upon which to successfully premise a direct appeal from or collateral attack upon a trial court’s order revoking probation. Yet the majority suggests no available remedy to the probationer who, in effect, has been unjustly incarcerated. Under these circumstances, I cannot agree with the majority that a non-final conviction that it recognizes does not constitute conclusive proof of guilt, is sufficient, in and of itself, to justify revocation of probation.
Here the record shows that the trial court relied solely on a conviction pending on appeal to determine that the probationer had violated the special condition of his probation requiring him to obey all laws. In my view, the trial court’s reliance on this nonprobative evidence was prejudicial and constituted reversible error. Accordingly, I would reverse and remand.
Judges Eldridge and Cole authorize me to say that they concur in the views herein expressed.

. § 643B (c) provides:
"(c) Third conviction of crime of violence. — Any person who (1) has been convicted on two separate occasions of a crime of violence where the convictions do not arise from a single incident, and (2) has served at least one term of confinement in a correctional institution as a result of a conviction of a crime of violence, shall be sentenced, on being convicted a third time of a crime of violence, to imprisonment for the term allowed by law, but, in any event, not less than 25 years. Neither the sentence nor any part of it may be -suspended, and the person shall not be eligible for parole except in accordance with the provisions of Article 31B, § 11.”