Court Opinion

ID: 9766492
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 04:51:17.435844+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:23.291106
License: Public Domain

ELDRIDGE, Judge,
dissenting:
I disagree with the majority’s view that the notice requirements of Maryland Rule 4-245(b) are met when the State *672mails notice of its intention to seek enhanced punishment for subsequent offenders at least 15 days before trial in the circuit court or at least five days before trial in the District Court. Instead, public policy and the purpose of the rule are served only when the time period is measured from the date of the actual receipt of notice.
The majority opinion favors the position articulated by the Rules Committee over public policy adopted by the General Assembly. Specifically, the majority asserts that the purpose of the rule “is not compromised in any significant way if the 15-day period is cut short by one or two days while the notice travels through the postal system.” The Legislature, however, has expressed a different view with respect to notice of enhanced punishment. For example, if a defendant were convicted of first degree murder, the maximum penalty he would face would be life imprisonment unless the State “notified” the person in writing at least 30 days before trial that it would seek either the death penalty or life without parole. See Code (1957,1992 Repl.Vol.), Art. 27, § 412(b). The majority distinguishes this statutory provision from Rule 4-245(b) because the statute requires that a defendant be “notified,” whereas the rule requires the State to “serve notice” on the defendant. The majority jumps semantic hurdles to justify imposing a mailbox rule overtop of Rule 4-245, but it is clear from § 412(b) that the Legislature intended the defendant to receive notice a full 30 days before trial. Since Rule 4-245(b) similarly involves notice of enhanced punishment, we should read the 15-day provision to mean that the defendant receive notice 15 days before trial in the circuit court and five days before trial in the District Court.
In addition, requiring timely receipt of the notice better effectuates the twofold purpose of Rule 4-245(b): to inform the defendant of the “nature of the State’s ease against him,” and to provide a period of time during which the defendant can evaluate his case in light of the risk of greater punishment he now faces. Carter v. State, 319 Md. 618, 621, 574 A.2d 305, 306 (1990); King v. State, 300 Md. 218, 231, 477 A.2d 768, 774, 775 (1984). A defendant who knows that he risks an enhanced *673punishment if convicted may decide to accept an offered plea bargain or may adjust his trial strategy. By allowing a mailing to start the clock on the Rule 4 — 245(b) notice provision, the majority has not merely lopped off a few days from the time in which a defendant is first made aware of the risk of enhanced penalty; it has also eroded the time period during which a defendant can reassess his case. The loss may prove critical, especially if the defendant’s case is complex.
Moreover, the majority incorrectly assumes that the delay will always be only a day or two. It is common knowledge that the postal system sometimes takes considerably longer to deliver mail. In light of the relatively short time periods involved, with the required notice only five days before trial in the District Court, the rule will be totally ineffective in some instances.
Both legislative policy and the policy underlying Rule 4-245(b) require that a defendant receive notice 15 days before the circuit court trial if the State seeks an enhanced punishment. I would vacate the petitioner’s sentence and remand the case for resentencing.
Judge ROBERT M. BELL has authorized me to state that he concurs with the views expressed herein.