The world of virtual reality may be moving too fast. Most people understand that when they play a virtual game, that the characters aren’t really hurt or killed. You can just end the game and start playing a new one. It’s like the old Road Runner cartoons where Wile E. Coyote always ends up being crushed by some product that failed, though everyone knows he’s not a real character and he’ll be fully healed by [...]

The results of a breathalyzer test can affect what criminal charges are filed against you and can affect your driving privileges. In most drunk driving cases, the breathalyzer test is the key evidence against a driver. If the results of the breathalyzer test can be excluded, many defendants can walk away from the charges and the charges will be dismissed. If the results are admitted, we can work to explain negative results, but those explanations [...]

In Maryland, some criminal records can be expunged and some cannot. Expungement essentially means that your criminal record is deleted or erased from court records and law enforcement records. Defendants often seek to have their records expunged so any convictions, arrests, or other resolution of the criminal charges in their case cannot be used against them. In addition to seeking expungements to clear a defendant’s name and protect them if new charges based on new [...]

The term "statute of limitations" indicates the limited period during which an injured person can file a lawsuit against someone who harmed them. The statute of limitations for criminal charges in Maryland varies according to the specific crime. Some crimes in Maryland have no statute of limitations, which means that charges can be filed at any time after the alleged crime occurred. These crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual offenses involving a minor, and certain [...]

In 1991, George Holliday recorded four white Los Angeles Police Department officers beating Black motorist Rodney King and submitted the video to the local news. Although filming police on the job was rare in the early 1990s, it has become common now, due to advances in technology and the widespread use of smartphones. Filming the police in Maryland is generally allowed, as long as you do not interfere with their lawful duties or violate other [...]

A PIT maneuver (Precision Immobilization Technique, Pursuit Intervention Technique, or Precision Intervention Tactic) is a law enforcement practice used to stop fleeing vehicles while exposing the driver, police and the public to minimal risk. While PIT maneuvers are considered standard procedures by most U.S. police departments, they have been banned in the UK and other parts of Europe because of the perceived danger they present. During a PIT maneuver, the pursuing vehicle pulls up beside [...]

While they may be fun or seem harmless to the poster, some online pranks can harm other people. They can also use up valuable police resources until the police determine what is true and what is false. A few recent examples illustrate that youngsters, teenagers, and adults of all ages need to understand that social media, YouTube, and other internet pranks can lead to the filing of criminal charges in juvenile court and adult court. [...]

Did you know you can be arrested for a felony assault at any time here in Maryland, no matter when it occurred? The reason for this is because Maryland has no statute of limitations on felony grade assault crimes. But what is a statute of limitations? In the realm of criminal law, statutes of limitations place a time limit on when charges can be filed for a particular crime. However, it bears repeating, when it [...]

Not only Maryland, but all states should mandate recording of all interrogations. It is shocking, with the accessibility and ease of recording technology today, that such a serious legal matter as a criminal interrogation cannot be recorded for reference purposes; but this is the reality in the United States today. According to an October 2022 report, casecrackers.com notes that only 27 states (Washington D.C. included) have adopted statewide interrogation recording policies. While common sense would [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 2023, in a 7-2 decision, that statements that qualify as “true threats” are not protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution – unless the government can show that the defendant who made the statements had some understanding of the threatening nature of the threats. This means, in short, that there needs to be some subjective (personal) evidence of the threat’s potential for harm, as opposed [...]