Valonis v. State, 66 A.3d 661

two defendants (Valonis and Tyler) were convicted in bench trials for robbery and burglary respectively after waiving jury trials in circuit court.
Maryland Rule 4-246(b) was amended to require the court to determine and announce on the record that a jury-trial waiver is knowing and voluntary.
Valonis’s waiver was accepted when the court noted the waiver; Tyler’s waiver occurred after defense counsel advised the court of the election to proceed bench.
The Court of Special Appeals held the waivers valid and that the Rule change satisfied the on-record determination requirement.
The Court granted certiorari to decide (1) validity of waivers without explicit on-record determinations, (2) preservation of error despite no timely objection, and (3) whether any error is harmless.
The majority reverses the Court of Special Appeals, holding Rule 4-246(b) requires strict on-record determinations and that failure to do so is reversible error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failure to state on the record that waiver was knowing and voluntary constitutes reversible error	Valonis/Tyler argue strict compliance required; failure reversible	State argues totality of circumstances suffices and error may be harmless	Yes; strict on-record finding required; noncompliance reversible
Whether waiver error is preserved despite failure to object at trial	Waiver rule mandates on-record finding; should preserve error regardless of objection	Failure to object should not bar review for a Rule 4-246(b) violation	Yes; preservation does not require objection
Whether a technical Rule 4-246(b) violation amounts to harmless error	Noncompliance undermines the waiver safeguard; not harmless	Record evidence may show knowing and voluntary waiver; error harmless	No; violation is not harmless and reversals are required

Powell v. State, 394 Md. 632 (2006) (held earlier Rule 4-246(b) did not require explicit on-record finding)
Walker v. State, 406 Md. 369 (2008) (recognized amendments to Rule 4-246(b) requiring on-record determination)
Tibbs v. State, 323 Md. 28 (1991) (totality of circumstances standard; warns against rote inquiries)
Martinez v. State, 309 Md. 124 (1987) (waiver must be knowing and voluntary; factual basis required)
Abeokuto v. State, 391 Md. 289 (2006) (emphasizes trial court’s responsibility in waiver of rights)
Robinson v. State, 67 Md.App. 445 (1986) (totality of circumstances framework prior to Rule 4-246(b) change)
Boulden v. State, 414 Md. 284 (2010) (strict compliance theme and on-record determinations)
Parren v. State, 309 Md. 260 (1987) (protects fundamental rights; strict adherence valued)
Camper v. State, 415 Md. 44 (2010) (demonstrates that noncompliance with waiver rules is reversible error)
Moten v. State, 339 Md. 407 (1995) (precedent on waiver-related reversals and Rule 4-246 impact)