If you are arrested in Maryland for a crime, you are entitled to have a lawyer. This is a right protected by the U.S. and Maryland Constitutions. This means that the right is highly protected by criminal court judges. If you have been arrested, this matters because:

• If you are convicted, your conviction can be overturned if your right to an attorney was violated and
• Evidence related to your charges can be excluded from use by the prosecuting attorneys if your right to an attorney was violated — suppression of evidence often leads to a verdict of “not guilty”

A good example can be seen in a recent case called Edwards v. State, Case No. 0899, September 2023 Term (Appellate Court of Maryland, 2024) (unreported). In that case, Mr. Edwards was convicted of first-degree murder and carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure following a fight outside a strip club.

The relevant facts are these. Mr. Edwards was arrested following the fight and death of the victim. He was placed in an interrogation room at the police facility. As quoted by the court, Mr. Edwards said to the officer at that time: “[i]s there any chance I can call my lawyer?” The officer replied, “[w]hen [the detectives] get here you can tell them that, okay. Like I said, you tell them what you want to tell them. If you don’t want to tell them anything, you want to talk to your lawyer, you can do that, okay. That’s not part of me, okay.”

About an hour later, a detective entered, read Mr. Edwards his Miranda rights, and began to ask questions. Mr. Edwards did not ask for an attorney again. During the interrogation, Mr. Edwards gave statements that were incriminating.

As would be expected later in the case, the attorney for Mr. Edwards asked the judge to exclude the incriminating statements because Mr. Edwards had asked for an attorney that was not provided. Once you ask for an attorney, the police must stop asking questions. As noted above, if your constitutional protections are violated, evidence can be excluded from being used at trial by the prosecutors. The trial judge refused to exclude the evidence, and Mr. Edwards was convicted by the jury of both charges and then appealed.

On appeal, Mr. Edwards was successful. The Maryland Appellate Court said that, by his one question, Mr. Edwards had sufficiently invoked his right to an attorney. Thus, the interrogation without an attorney violated Mr. Edwards’ constitutional protections, and the evidence should have been excluded. Mr. Edwards will get a new trial, the evidence will be excluded, and he might obtain a “not guilty” verdict at his new trial.

Despite this victory, the Maryland criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro suggest it is best to ask for your lawyer over and over again. There are strange rules in Maryland about when you have to ask for a lawyer. For example, with Mr. Edwards, the prosecuting attorneys argued that Mr. Edwards asked for an attorney too soon. Because of these strange rules, it is best to invoke your right to an attorney over and over again.

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.