In Re GARY T., 112 A.3d 1108

Juvenile court found appellant delinquent for conduct equating to second-degree assault; victim was A. Fofana.
Facts: Fofana’s phone was taken; when he confronted appellant and another, appellant allegedly punched Fofana from behind causing facial injury; a photograph corroborated injury.
Appellant claimed self-defense, testifying that Fofana was the initial aggressor; the juvenile judge credited Fofana, reasoning the wound was from a rear blow and inconsistent with appellant’s account.
On cross-examination appellant sought to impeach Fofana with a November 2013 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute marijuana (four months after the incident).
Trial court excluded the conviction, relying largely on Wallach v. Board of Education and finding limited probative value; appellant appealed.

Issue	Appellant's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether a conviction for conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana) is admissible under Md. Rule 5-609 to impeach a witness	Wallach was effectively overruled by State v. Giddens; conspiracy to distribute CDS is relevant to credibility and thus impeachable	Wallach remains controlling; alternatively exclusion was proper after balancing probative value against prejudice; any error was harmless	A flat rule excluding all conspiracy convictions is no longer sustainable: a conspiracy conviction is impeachable when the objective of the conspiracy is itself an impeachable offense (e.g., CDS distribution). But on the facts the trial judge did not abuse discretion in excluding this specific conviction as minimally probative, so judgment affirmed

Wallach v. Board of Education, 99 Md. App. 386, 637 A.2d 859 (1994) (held conspiracy to distribute marijuana not per se admissible for impeachment)
State v. Giddens, 335 Md. 205, 642 A.2d 870 (1994) (held distribution of CDS generally relevant to credibility and admissible for impeachment)
Ricketts v. State, 291 Md. 701, 436 A.2d 906 (1981) (explains that crimes with widely varying conduct may be inadmissible for impeachment)
Carter v. State, 80 Md. App. 686, 566 A.2d 131 (1989) (held manufacturing CDS relevant to credibility)
Townes v. State, 314 Md. 71, 548 A.2d 832 (1988) (defines conspiracy as unlawful agreement; crime complete upon agreement)