Trial Judge

ANNAPOLIS -- The Court of Special Appeals overturned yesterday the murder conviction of a Baltimore man, who already was on parole for a previous murder, because of remarks the trial judge made in the presence of the jury.Those comments by Baltimore Circuit Judge Elsbeth L. Bothe were "so egregious, so inflammatory" that the court was forced to reverse the conviction of Warren A. Waddell, 38, Judge Paul E. Alpert wrote for the three-judge panel.The ruling marks the third time in two years that the intermediate appellate court has chastised Judge Bothe for comments she made from the bench.

Baltimore County prosecutors will not be allowed to use information provided by James D. Laboard's lawyer on the night that the off-duty police officer allegedly killed a Randallstown teenager, a judge ruled Friday. During a criminal motions hearing, Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander ruled that the lawyer's decision to talk to detectives violated attorney-client confidentiality. Prosecutors said the ruling would have little effect on the case. Laboard, a Baltimore County police officer, is charged with two counts of manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Brown.

Prosecutors won't be able to portray James Gregory Martin at his automobile-manslaughter trial as a reckless driver who often drove into oncoming traffic while traveling the county's back roads, a Carroll Circuit judge has ruled.In an order filed yesterday, Carroll Circuit Judge Francis M. Arnold said testimony that would support such a portrayal was inadmissible. The order said Mr. Martin's alleged bad driving in the past was irrelevant at his trial on two counts of automobile manslaughter.

A federal judge ruled Monday that claims by two former Anne Arundel County employees, who allege they lost their jobs because of retaliation by the administration of former County Executive John R. Leopold, can advance to trial. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake threw out some parts of the lawsuits by Karla Hamner, a former spokeswoman for Leopold, and Joan Harris, who worked as a constituent services specialist during the executive's first term. But the judge "kept the crux of both of the cases" said John Singleton, an attorney representing both plaintiffs.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the criminal convictions of Baltimore defense lawyer Neil W. Steinhorn and local pawnbroker Eugene Petasky, saying the trial judge did not err in making several rulings that affected evidence and the jury's verdicts.A three-judge appellate panel ruled, on one key issue, that authorities did not entrap Steinhorn when he laundered money through a Caribbean bank and converted stolen gold to cash through Petasky's Metro Brokers pawn shop on North Eutaw Street for an FBI informant and an undercover agent.

A jury note that apparently was never read to the defendant in a 1997 Baltimore County trial could jeopardize the defendant's conviction for a murder that went unsolved for 19 years.William R. Isaacs, 46, of Baltimore was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1978 fatal beating of 22-year-old Mark Schwandtner, whose body was found in Big Gunpowder River beneath a railroad trestle near the Harford County line.On Tuesday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld Isaacs' October 1997 conviction.

Within the last 10 days, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the first-degree murder convictions of two Mexican men in the gruesome murders of three children in Baltimore in 2004; the manslaughter conviction of Ricky Savoy in the death of Marvin Watts in Baltimore in 1993; and the second-degree murder conviction of Raymond Lupfer in the shooting death of Jeremy Yarbray in Cecil County in 2007. In each case, the state's highest court said, the trial judge made mistakes. One judge failed to tell attorneys about five "substantive" notes that came from the jury during trial.

The oversized windows of Hans Wilhelmsen's house in Jacksonville command a view to the east of hills dotted with baled hay and stands of oak, maple and pine on the 70 acres he owns a mile south of where an Exxon station unleashed an underground flood of unleaded gasoline five years ago. Thirteen bison patrolled the fields then, but they're gone now, and Wilhelmsen is sure he knows why. "We saw six die at one time" about two years ago, Wilhelmsen said....

A city judge cleared the way Monday for new trials of two men accused of slashing the throats of three children in a grisly triple murder nine years ago, settling a slew of legal disputes over years-old testimony and forensic evidence. A March 11 trial has been scheduled for Policarpio Espinoza Perez, 30, and a separate trial for Adan Canela, 25, will likely follow. The defense and prosecution agreed to give the co-defendants separate trials. They had been tried together in 2005 and 2006.

Millard E. Gladfelter, 95, president of Temple University in Philadelphia from 1959 to 1967, died Sunday. As president, he helped create a state partnership called the Commonwealth System of Education that helped transform the private university into a state-related institution, allowing tuition reduction and expanded enrollment through additional state aid.Frank J. Murray, 90, who served as a trial judge in state and federal courts for nearly 50 years, died...

A judge delivered a major blow Monday to the state's case against two men accused of fatally slashing the throats of three children nine years ago, ruling that the testimony of a key witness is inadmissible. As prosecutors try for a third time next month to convict Policarpio Espinoza Perez, 31, and Adan Canela, 26, they'll have to do so without some important evidence and witnesses they used to secure a 2006 guilty verdict that was later thrown out by Maryland's top court. Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock told the prosecution that it may not use the statements of the woman who said in the earlier trials that she drove the men from work to the crime scene.

Attorneys likely will begin laying out their cases before week's end in the criminal trial of Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who is accused of using taxpayer-funded police officers for his personal and political benefit. Leopold on Thursday waived his right to a jury trial, which means the case will be heard and decided by Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney. The decision came after the trial opened Thursday with a day of jury selection. Leopold, 69, was indicted last March on four counts of misconduct in office and one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has waived his right to a jury in his criminal misconduct trial, clearing the way for attorneys to make opening statements Friday in a case that now will be heard by a single judge. The surprise move came during the second day of jury selection in the trial of Leopold, who faces charges of fraud and misconduct for allegedly using his taxpayer-funded police detail to run personal and political errands. Neither Leopold nor his attorneys explained the reason for the change of course or its timing.

A Baltimore judge said Tuesday that she will soon decide whether a lawsuit about the proposed $1.5 billion redevelopment of State Center should go to trial. At the end of several hours of arguments regarding whether the two sides agree about the facts of the case, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy told attorneys she intends to rule on the state's summary judgment motion before the end of the week. If Handy does not rule in the state's favor, and unless the parties come to a settlement, a trial will be necessary to determine the merits of allegations made in 2010 by downtown landlords and business owners.

A city judge cleared the way Monday for new trials of two men accused of slashing the throats of three children in a grisly triple murder nine years ago, settling a slew of legal disputes over years-old testimony and forensic evidence. A March 11 trial has been scheduled for Policarpio Espinoza Perez, 30, and a separate trial for Adan Canela, 25, will likely follow. The defense and prosecution agreed to give the co-defendants separate trials. They had been tried together in 2005 and 2006.

Tiffany Alston, the Prince George's County delegate who was ousted from the General Assembly this year after being convicted of misconduct in office, will not be reinstated, a court ruled Wednesday. At the same time the Prince George's Circuit Court turned down Alston's plea to regain her seat, it gave Gov. Martin O'Malley a victory by ruling that the Democratic Party committee that recommended a replacement can withdraw its nomination as the governor requested. O'Malley asked the county Democratic Central Committee to rescind its recommendation of Gregory Hall after learning about the man's criminal record on a case two decades ago. "The circumstances of this case do little for the good name and reputation of our state and even less for our county," Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. wrote in ruling that the committee can in fact do so. The judge also ruled that if the committee send the governor a new name, it is not a binding recommendation.

An Annapolis man who had been convicted twice of the same murder - but had both convictions overturned on appeal - agreed yesterday to a plea arrangement under which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for second-degree murder. John Thomas Logan III, 26, has acknowledged fatally shooting his lifelong friend and neighbor in Eastport, Wayne D. Addison, in January 1999 over a disagreement about a car, which was worth about $1,000. In October 2000, Logan's first murder conviction was overturned by the Court of Special Appeals because the trial judge let a detective testify that during his interview with Logan, the man asked for a lawyer.

Now that it is over, we wonder what to make of the unhapp case of filmmaker Woody Allen, actress Mia Farrow and their children.A New York judge has now awarded custody of the couple's three children to Ms. Farrow after a bruising court battle that included charges Mr. Allen had sexually molested his 4-year-old daughter, Dylan, and his admission that he had a sexual affair with Ms. Farrow's 19-year-old adopted daughter, Soon-Yi. A team of investigators concluded Mr. Allen hadn't abused Dylan, but the judge raised doubts about that finding.

The state's highest court has overturned the second-degree murder conviction of Thomas B. Harris, convicted of fatally stabbing Karim Cross in a Randallstown bar in 2006, and ordered a new trial. The Court of Appeals agreed with a decision by the lower appeals court. Harris was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said prosecutors would make a decision on "whether we can go forward" with retrying Harris, as they would have to find witnesses from six years ago. The court agreed with the lower appeals court ruling that the trial judge should have declared a mistrial.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold must stand trial on allegations that he misused his police detail for personal and political gain. Judge Dennis M. Sweeney ruled Monday that a jury will hear all five counts leveled against Leopold, who is accused of dispatching his security detail for tasks that ranged from compiling files on perceived political enemies to ferrying Leopold to sexual rendezvous. Sweeney's ruling denies Leopold's effort to throw the case out of court before the scheduled Sept.