Post Conviction in Maryland. What it is and what it isn’t.
Post convictions are lost far more often than they are won. Your post conviction is your last guaranteed opportunity to appear before a judge. Consult with an experienced attorney. Call Erica J. Suter at 301.880.7118. Collect calls accepted. ejsuter@ericasuterlaw.com
Who?
Everyone who is convicted of a crime in Maryland has the right to file a petition for post conviction relief if they are incarcerated, on probation or on parole. If none of these apply, you may be able to file a Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis, but that will be covered in a different post.
When?
If you were convicted after 1995, you have ten years from the date of your sentence to file. YOU MUST FILE WITHIN YOUR TEN YEAR DEADLINE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THIS RIGHT. Your hearing may take place after your ten year deadline and you may even supplement with additional claims after your ten year deadline, but your initial petition must be filed by your deadline. If you were convicted before 1995, the ten year deadline does not apply, but I will cover that in more detail in another post.
Where?
You file in the court where you had your trial or guilty plea. Your post conviction will be heard by a different judge than the judge who presided over your trial or guilty plea.
What?
Typically people raise claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in a post conviction petition. Under the 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution you are entitled to effective assistance of counsel. In order to prevail on a post conviction petition you must show two things:
1.) that trial counsel made a mistake; and,
2.) “prejudice.” Prejudice simply means that the mistake was a serious one that potentially changed the outcome of the trial. In other words, only a serious error counts for purposes of post conviction relief.
Claims of prosecutorial misconduct can also be raised in a post conviction petition. e.g., There was a cooperating State’s witness, maybe a jailhouse informant, who testified against you in your case. That witness got a deal in exchange for his cooperation. That deal was not disclosed to you and your attorney.
You are entitled to a hearing on your first post conviction petition.
During your post conviction proceedings, the burden is on you to persuade the court that something went wrong in your trial or guilty plea. For example, if you want to argue that your trial counsel was ineffective for failing to put on an alibi witness, you cannot simply make a bald allegation. You must present evidence regarding the alibi itself.
If you win your post conviction, the remedy is a new trial. It is not the same as a “not guilty.” You are placed in the same position that you were in at the time that you were charged. The State can retry you. A post conviction win is, with some exceptions, sort of like a do over.
You are entitled to representation on post conviction. If you cannot afford private counsel, you will be appointed a public defender.
I will cover Motions to Reopen a Closed Post Conviction in another post.
If you lose your post conviction, you may file an Application for Leave to Appeal within thirty days off the date of the decision. I will explain that right in more detail in another post.
What it is not:
The post conviction phase of your case is not really about your guilt or innocence. It is about the process and whether the process worked the way that it is supposed to.
The kinds of claims that may be raised at the post conviction phase of your case are limited. The post conviction hearing is not a new trial and is not, in and of itself, a chance to retry your case.
A post conviction petition is not a guaranteed opportunity to negotiate your way into a lower sentence.
I have learn a few excellent stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting.
I surprise how a lot attempt you set to create the sort of great informative web site.
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content.
Please let me know. Thanks
sure.
Good way of explaining, and good post to get facts on the topic
of my presentation subject, which i am going to present in academy.
pretty handy stuff, overall I imagine this is worth a bookmark, thanks
Valuable info. Fortunate me I discovered your web site by chance, and I am surprised why this
twist of fate didn’t came about earlier! I bookmarked it.
I truly appreciate this blog post.Really thank you! Want more.
Thanks again for the blog article.Really thank you! Fantastic.
information. I am bookmarking and will be tweeting this
I want to to thank you for this very good read!!
I definitely loved every bit of it. I have you book marked to look at new stuff
you post…
My brother recommended I might like this blog.
He was entirely right. This post truly made my day.
You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info!
Thanks!
Hello, this weekend is fastidious in favor of me, for the reason that this time i am reading this impressive informative paragraph
here at my house.
Great post. I am facing some of these issues as well..
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you will
be a great author.I will remember to bookmark your
blog and will eventually come back sometime soon. I want to encourage you to continue your great work, have a nice day!
Simply want to say your article is as astonishing.
The clarity for your put up is simply spectacular and i can suppose you’re knowledgeable on this subject.
Fine together with your permission let me to take hold of your
RSS feed to keep up to date with impending post. Thanks one million and please keep up the rewarding work.
Your mode of telling everything in this post is in fact fastidious, all be
capable of simply be aware of it, Thanks a lot.
I would like to thank you for the efforts you
have put in writing this website. I’m hoping to see the same high-grade content
by you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own, personal blog
now 😉
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thanks for supplying this information.
Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after looking at some of the articles
I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I discovered it
and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back frequently!
Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading
it, you could be a great author. I will make certain to bookmark your blog and may come back later on. I want to encourage you to continue your great work, have a nice morning!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about blogroll.
Regards
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted
to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog
posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and
I hope you write again soon!
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the
layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.
I’m gone to say to my little brother, that he
should also pay a visit this webpage on regular basis to get
updated from most up-to-date information.
Hi, after reading this awesome paragraph i am as well
happy to share my knowledge here with friends.
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker
who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me breakfast
because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword
this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time
to discuss this issue here on your internet site.
Hello There. I found your blog the use of
msn. This is an extremely neatly written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read extra of your helpful information. Thanks for the post.
I will definitely return.
Great goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely excellent.
I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like
what you are stating and the way in which you say it.
You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible.
I cant wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great site.
It is really a nice and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
you are actually a good webmaster. The web site loading pace is amazing. It kind of feels that you’re doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you’ve performed a wonderful job in this subject!
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail.
I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested
in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.
It is actually a nice and helpful piece of information. I’m happy
that you simply shared this useful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this.
Thank you for sharing.
Major thanks for the blog.Really thank you! Fantastic.
Good day! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thank you
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog
and wanted to mention that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts.
In any case I will be subscribing in your feed and I hope
you write once more soon!
Hi there, simply turned into alert to your weblog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate should you proceed this in future. A lot of other folks might be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
I discovered your blog site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…
how long do the state to respond to a post conviction
15 days under the rules, but they routinely flout this requirement with no consequence
Thank you ever so for you post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
What all do I need to have in my pcr applications for the allegations against my lawyer and case, do I have to write it in a legal way and have other cases supporting it. Or can I just tell them simply in my words the issue.
You should consult with an attorney. You have the right to be represented by the Office of the Public Defender on post conviction if you cannot afford a private attorney.
I have some questions. Could I call and have a free consultation? My husband and I can not afford a private attorney. His case is already listed in post conviction.
How long does it take to get a Post Conviction? Ms.
I would like to known how how a applicants motion for modification of sentence works ?do they give you a hearing date or do you have to file paper work ?I’ve already been granted it so what is my nexted step?Can you email me info please
Simply wanna state that this is extremely helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
In a case where a defendant always maintained self defense and trial lawyer did not call witnesses to “prove” this claim, do the witnesses have to testify at the post conviction?
Every case is different. Generally speaking, if the allegation in post conviction is that a lawyer was ineffective for not putting on witnesses who could have substantiated a claim of self defense, then yes, the Petitioner needs to put on the witnesses who were available to testify at the time of the trial. You should consult with a post conviction attorney directly about this issue.
I found this page looking for more info on PCR. It has been very helpful. I was told, by my friend, that the ‘courts’ did not want to go to trial and that they now want to make a deal. I was unsure what that meant and started looking into it. Based on this I am not sure that sounds correct. I have been given the impression that release could happen within months despite multiple felony charges.
I’d have to know more about the case to be able to comment.
For the past twenty years I have worked as a prison law clerk in the State of Florida handling postconviction cases, and have been a paralegal for forty years in both Maryland and Florida. The one caveat: I worked those twenty years in the law library as a prisoner. Released August 1, 2017.
I’m doing some cases for a firm called Postconviction Solutions, LLC, via the internet and two of those cases happen to be DC cases.
What I am looking for is freelance out-of-office to review cases, write an analysis and draft motions. If you are interested my home phone is 410-956-3084.
I filed a PCR because I know for a fact that nothing illegal was found on my computer. How do I get forensics done on the computer in evidence to prove it?