An appeals judge who compared a Black defendant to a monster in the epic poem Beowulf used language that could be interpreted as evoking racial stereotypes, according to the Maryland Supreme Court.
Maryland's Supreme Court disavowed language in a lower court decision that suggested implicit bias against a Black defendant and his mother, though the high court declined to decide whether the opinion violated due process rights.
Maryland’s second-highest court upheld a Washington, D.C., woman’s conviction for second-degree assault on the grounds that the charge was implicitly included when the woman was accused of a more serious assault offense. The 23-page reported opinion found it was proper for an Anne Arundel County judge to submit the lower-level assault charge to a jury […]
Maryland’s top court will consider if alleged racially charged comments so permeated an appeals court opinion that a convicted killer deserves a new hearing.