Pixiq

I cant wait to see how this turns out. I think this will have a bearing on alot of states and maybe even go up the chain to the fedral level.

I thought the state’s AG was the boss and all other DA works under the AG… I could be wrong. However the DA in this case just wants to make a name for himself.

@ sickntired — As I understand it, Cassilly is a locally elected official, part of the county government, not the state government. (his office’s web site is part of the county web site)

It’s not like US DOJ, where there’s the AG and the president also appoints US attorneys for various areas/cities of the country.

What are that chances that Graber gets attorney’s fees out of the government when he is acquitted or the charges are dropped?

Does he have to sue, or can a judge do that with a settlement ruling?

The police record and video tape traffic stops routinely. The conversation between the driver and officer can be used in court and therefore is not considered a "private" conversation. They can't have it both ways.

I was about to post an “I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Fox News” comment, but I see that it’s not Fox News CHANNEL, but a local Fox affiliate.

@enceohalopath
I am not familiar with the laws in Maryland, but generally in a criminal prosecution, attorney costs are not recoverable. That is usually reserved for civil suits, most commonly civil rights against a government entity, as in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover (2005)

Attorney general opinions, although not “law,” are usually “highly” persuasive, so judges usually follow them when making their rulings. If a highly intelligent, highly trained, and skilled attorney general is of the opinion that recording the voice is legal, then a citizen, usually untrained in the law, shouldn’t be held to have violated the law. It’s called the “rule of lenity.”

Like Daniel said, an official AG opinion, absent a state supreme court ruling to the contrary, generally has the same standing as binding case law.

Of course, Maryland is so totally effed up in this matter, who knows?

“Like Daniel said, an official AG opinion, absent a state supreme court ruling to the contrary, generally has the same standing as binding case law.”

They are certainly influential, but they are no where near as persuasive/controlling as binding case law. In many court systems (e.g. all federal circuits), courts are bound by their precedent, they cannot overturn previous decisions on their own and must wait for a higher court to do so. Even where they aren’t bound to this level of deference, the courts rarely overturn precedent due to the doctrine of stare decisis.

AG opinions are influential only in the sense that they are typically seen as direct orders by the top AG to lower state attorneys/city attorneys. If your boss tells you not to bring a charge, you’re unlikely to do so. The result? Certain laws may not be interpreted in some ways, but it’s not because the court is bowing to the opinion (that’s a balance of powers issue), but because the AGs just won’t bring cases under those circumstances.

There also have been some cases that suggest that if someone relies on an AG opinion that there is a due process violation if they are convicted in spite of the opinion, but that’s another issue.

-Cheers.

Daniel,

The rule of lenity is somewhat like what you were saying. Essentially, that rule says that if there is ambiguity in a criminal statute, the ambiguity must be resolved in favor of a defendant. Take a statute that says:

“Any person who does Y during a work day is guilty of an offense.”

Now assume Joe Defendant does Y on a Friday BUT that Friday was a national holiday that is not recognized by the state. Does Joe get convicted? Nope, because reasonable minds could differ as to whether Y was a “work day,” Joe should be let go due to the rule of lenity.

the DA in this case is a 60-year old life-long government parasite.

You really begin to know the dynamics of State’s Attorneys when you live in Maryland. This state is so screwed up and historically has been so. I’ve lived there twenty five years and the Bronx was a more ethical county than some of the counties in Maryland. Officials have egos as big as the Baltimore Harbor.

Prosecuting this young man is ludicrous. More than likely, the case will be dismissed after the family spends a bundle on legal fees. I was the victim of a countt’y prosecution. In a six week period, they appointed five different attorneys to work the case up until the last day. Then another attorney was assigned the day before the trial. There are a few counties I would feel safe in. Hartford is not one of them Montgomery is another disaster. Forget Prince Georges County. It’s a triple disaster. That’s where the University of Md is located where the cops beat up the college student. I thank God that I don’t live in any of those counties.

In New Hampshire (where I live) the Attorney General has constitutional/common law/statutory authority over ALL prosecutions… even down to a traffic ticket.

Why can’t the Maryland AG kill this stupid case?
Bradley Jardis recently posted..Heika’s Letter to the Editor

While it is an opinion, doesn’t that mean Graber could cite it, first off, and if he is convicted, if he takes it to the state level, that it would apply, because the AG’s office wouldn’t be able to make a case based on the AG’s ruling?