In Maryland criminal law, there is a distinction between two types of evidence, which are generally called “direct” and “circumstantial” evidence. Both types of evidence can and are used by Maryland prosecuting attorneys to obtain convictions for crimes. Direct evidence is where the evidence directly identifies the person accused. For example, a witness might testify that he or she “saw the accused shoot the victim.” That is direct evidence.

By contrast, circumstantial evidence is where there is no direct evidence of some fact or issue, but where indirect evidence suggests the existence of that fact or issue. The idea is that the jury is inferring the existence of one fact from the existence of facts that are shown through direct evidence. As noted, under Maryland’s criminal law, circumstantial evidence is sufficient for a criminal conviction, and it is possible to convict a person on nothing but circumstantial evidence. The only requirement is that the inferences made by the jury must be rational and that they “rest upon more than mere speculation or conjecture.” Smith v. State, 415 Md. 174 (2010).

The Appellate Court of Maryland recently issued an opinion that provides a good, clear example of what proper circumstantial evidence is. See Palmer v. State, 342 A. 3d 484 (Md: Appellate Court 2025). Among other alleged crimes, the accused — Palmer — was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”). He had been arrested for alleged DUI near the scene of an accident.

To obtain a DUI conviction, one of the elements that Maryland prosecuting attorneys must prove — beyond a reasonable doubt — is that the person accused was DRIVING a motor vehicle. Under applicable statutes, “drive” means to operate, move, or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle.

In the Palmer case, the criminal defense team argued that there was no evidence that Palmer was driving the vehicle in question. There was certainly no direct evidence. There were no eyewitnesses who could testify that Palmer had been driving the vehicle, and the police officers did not arrive on the scene until long after the accident had occurred. When the police arrived, Palmer was not in the crashed vehicle. Rather, he was seen walking in the grass near the scene of the accident. 

While there was no direct evidence that Palmer was driving the vehicle, there was plenty of circumstantial evidence. Ultimately, the jury found that there was enough circumstantial evidence to believe Palmer had been driving the vehicle. And, ultimately, the Maryland Appellate Court agreed. The court found that the inferences were reasonable. The circumstantial evidence included the following:

• The accident was a single-car accident
• The vehicle was found in a wet grassy ditch, about ten feet from the dry roadway
• When the police arrived, Palmer’s shoes were wet and covered with grass (consistent with the idea that he had been walking in the wet, grassy area at the scene of the accident)
• The vehicle was owned by Palmer’s girlfriend
• Palmer lived with his girlfriend
• The hood of the vehicle was still warm when the police officers arrived on the scene
• There was only one set of keys and a fob for the vehicle
• Keys and a fob that fit the vehicle were found in Palmer’s pocket
• When the police arrived, Palmer made statements like I am “going to pump up his tire and … basically be on [my] way” and “I just told y’all I got a tow truck coming”

Each item above is circumstantial evidence that Palmer was driving the vehicle that was crashed at the scene of the accident. As noted, ultimately, the Maryland Appellate Court agreed that this set of circumstantial evidence was sufficient for the jury to find that Palmer had been driving the car at the time of the accident.

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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 11701 Central Avenue, Suite 200, Waldorf, MD 20601.