As we have discussed in other articles on this blog, the Hearsay Rule of Evidence is very complicated. If prosecuting attorneys and the Maryland criminal court judge violate the Hearsay Rule, that often leads to the overturning of a conviction. That means the defendant’s conviction is nullified, and he or she gets a new trial. Sometimes, that can even lead to a reduction of the charges in a plea bargain negotiation because, without the erroneously admitted hearsay evidence, the prosecution’s case becomes much weaker.

If you have been arrested and charged with a crime here in Waldorf, Maryland, you want to hire Maryland criminal defense attorneys who have a full and deep understanding of the hearsay rules (and the other rules of evidence). You want experienced criminal defense attorneys who will “see” the hearsay violation when testimony is presented and who will make the proper and timely objection. This can, then, be the basis for an appeal and, maybe, the overturning of any conviction. If you have been charged here in Waldorf, MD, call the proven Maryland criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. We are available 24/7. You can also use our contact page.

What is hearsay evidence, and why is it not admissible in a criminal case?

Hearsay evidence is not allowed to be admitted or heard in a Maryland criminal case (unless there is an exception). See Md. Rule of Evid., 802. Hearsay is defined as: “… a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” Md. Rule of Evid., 801(c).

The main problem with hearsay evidence is that there is no method of testing the truth of what is being claimed as “true.” An example will help explain the concept of hearsay. Suppose a police officer is on the witness stand and testifies that “the victim said that the defendant had raped her.” In this example, the police officer is testifying to a statement — about the rape — made by another person — the victim — who is not testifying in court, AND the statement is being offered as being true. In effect, the prosecuting attorneys want the jury to convict the defendant because the police officer testified that the victim said that the defendant committed rape. Among other things, the problem is that there is no way to “test the truth” of the testimony during cross-examination. A hypothetical cross-examination might go like this:

Defendant’s Attorney: Officer, what time of day did the incident happen?

Officer: I don’t know. She did not tell me that.

Attorney: Where did the incident occur?

Officer: I don’t know. She did not tell me that.

Attorney: Were there any other persons present during the incident?

Officer: I don’t know. She did not tell me that.

Etc.

As can be seen, the Officer had no personal knowledge of the alleged rape. As such, the Officer could not be cross-examined to test the truth of what was being asserted.

Recent case: hearsay violation gets defendant a new trial

This hypothetical example is partly based on the recently reported case of Melgar-Delgado v. State, Case No. 2241, September Term, 2022 (Appellate Court of Maryland 2024). In that case, the defendant was charged and convicted of statutory rape. The victim did not tell anyone about the alleged rape until four months later. The judge allowed four witnesses to testify as to what the alleged victim told them four months later, including the investigating police officer. Those statements were hearsa,y and the Appellate Court held that there was no exception to the Hearsay Rule. As such, the hearsay testimony should not have been allowed at the trial. The conviction was overturned.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.