Brief filed: 11/22/2019
Documents
Faulkner and Smith v. Maryland
Court of Appeals of Maryland; Case No. 42, 43
Prior Decision
Decisions below 2019 WL 2371930 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. June 3, 2019) & 2019 WL 2369903 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. June 3, 2019)
Argument(s)
The courts below committed legal error in not considering the State’s affirmative obligations to disclose exculpatory evidence. The State’s duty to disclose exculpatory information necessarily informs defense counsel’s diligence obligations. The defense was entitled to rely on the State’s open-file policy. The Circuit Court abused its discretion by not considering some of the most probative evidence regarding defense counsel’s diligence in regards to the Keene Statement.
Author(s)
John S. Williams, Kristin Saetveit, Jane Y. Chong, and Vanessa O. Omoroghomwan, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, DC; David B. Smith, NACDL, Washington, DC.
