Shannon v. StateShannon v. State
This case is about whether a drafting error in an indictment resulted in inadequate notice of the alleged offense that deprived the trial court of jurisdiction. Petitioner Teddy Shannon was charged in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City with, among other offenses, unlawful possession of a regulated firearm by a person who had previously been convicted of a predicate offense. While the pertinent count of the indictment accurately stated detailed information about a prior conviction that prohibited Mr. Shannon from possessing a firearm – namely, the specific offense (possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance), the case number, and the date of that conviction – it also inaccurately referred to that conviction as a “crime of violence.” That error went unnoticed in the Circuit Court, perhaps because Mr. Shannon stipulated before the jury that he was prohibited by a prior conviction from possessing a regulated firearm and disputed only whether he had possessed the firearm specified in the indictment. The jury found Mr. Shannon guilty of the firearms offense.
I
Background
A. Content and Amendment of a Charging Document
Standards for Charging Documents
Under
To further the constitutional guarantee, the Maryland Rules set standards for the content and amendment of a charging document. In particular,
The Rules allow for amendment of a charging document as follows:
On motion of a party or on its own initiative, the court at any time before verdict may permit a charging document to be amended except that if the amendment changes the character of the offense charged, the consent of the parties is required. If amendment of a charging document reasonably so requires, the court shall grant the defendant an extension of time or continuance.
Challenges to Sufficiency of Charging Document
As a general rule, if a defendant wishes to raise a defect in the charging document, the defendant must file a motion based on that defect “within 30 days after the earlier of the appearance of counsel or the first appearance of the defendant before the court“; otherwise, the defect is waived.
B. The Offense of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person
Title 5 of the Public Safety Article defines a category of “regulated firearms” – essentially handguns and certain assault weapons – and regulates the possession, sale, and transfer of such firearms.
The statute groups predicate convictions into three categories. Those categories are as follows:
(1) Conviction of a “crime of violence,” defined to include 19 offenses under State law.3
(3) Conviction of an out-of-state or federal offense equivalent to an offense in the first two categories.
The gravamen of the offense defined in
C. The Prosecution of Mr. Shannon
At a trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Mr. Shannon was convicted of two offenses – threatening arson and a firearms offense – related to an altercation near his residence on December 10, 2016. The issue in this appeal concerns an undisputed error in the drafting of the firearms count and does not depend on the sufficiency of the evidence or the particular facts of the case. The underlying facts, as established at trial, are summarized in the opinion of the Court of Special Appeals and there is no need to repeat that discussion here. See Shannon v. State, 241 Md. App. 233, 238-40 (2019).
The Statement of Charges
A Statement of Charges, including a statement of probable cause in support of the charges, was filed in the District Court on December 11, 2016 in connection with Mr. Shannon‘s arrest as a result of the altercation. Among other things, the Statement of Charges alleged that Mr. Shannon possessed a regulated firearm in violation of
The Firearms Count of the Indictment
On January 13, 2017, Mr. Shannon was charged in a six-count indictment with various offenses related to the altercation. Two counts of the indictment charged Mr. Shannon with illegal possession of a regulated firearm by a prohibited person; each count referred to a different firearm. The count of which he was ultimately convicted read, in pertinent part, as follows:
FIFTH COUNT
. . . DEFENDANT, Teddy SHANNON . . . on or about December 10, 2016, in the 1700 block of East 30th Street, in the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland, having been convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in Public Safety Article, Section 5-101(c), to wit: 05/09/2008, Possession with Intent to Distribute, Case No.: 107312013, did possess a regulated firearm, to wit: Ruger P90DC, .45 Caliber Handgun, in violation of Public Safety Article, Section 5-133(c) of the Annotated Code of Maryland; against the peace, government and dignity of the State.
Indictment at 2 (underlining in original; italicized emphasis added).
As is evident, this count alleged that Mr. Shannon had possessed a particular regulated firearm on a particular date in 2016 in a particular place, after having been convicted in 2008 in a specified case of the crime of possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (a violation of
The Trial
At trial, the parties entered into a written “Stipulation of Fact” with respect to the predicate conviction element of the firearms charges. That stipulation, which was read to the jury, stated that Mr. Shannon had previously “been convicted of a crime for which he is prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm under
When the trial court instructed the jury concerning the firearms charges, it reminded the jury of the stipulation that Mr. Shannon was prohibited from possessing a firearm as a result of a previous conviction. In his closing argument, the prosecutor also alluded to the fact that Mr. Shannon was a prohibited person with respect to the firearms charges, without elaborating on why he was prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm. At no time
After a three-day trial, the jury convicted Mr. Shannon of the Fifth Count charging him with possession of a regulated firearm by a disqualified person and threatening arson, in violation of
The Appeal
Mr. Shannon appealed. In the Court of Special Appeals, Mr. Shannon argued, for the first time, that the Fifth Count of the indictment was fatally defective in establishing the court‘s jurisdiction because it failed to charge a crime.9 The intermediate appellate court, in a reported opinion, affirmed. Shannon v. State, 241 Md. App. 233 (2019). As an initial matter, the Court of Special Appeals reasoned that, because the Fifth Count included
Neither party was satisfied with the Court of Special Appeals’ opinion. Mr. Shannon filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, reiterating his argument that the Fifth Count was fatally defective as a result of the drafting error. The State filed a conditional cross-
II
Discussion
A. Standard of Review
There are two questions before us in this appeal:
(1) whether the Fifth Count, notwithstanding the drafting error, charged Mr. Shannon with a cognizable crime; and
(2) whether an amendment pursuant to
These are both questions of law and, accordingly, we apply the non-deferential de novo standard of review. Davis v. Slater, 383 Md. 599, 604 (2004); Cole v. State, 378 Md. 42, 56 (2003).
We conclude that the Fifth Count charged Mr. Shannon with a cognizable crime under
B. Whether the Fifth Count Charged Mr. Shannon with a Cognizable Offense
Mr. Shannon did not raise any objection in the trial court to the drafting error in the Fifth Count. Accordingly, his challenge to that count is only properly before us if that
As outlined above, not every defect in a charging document deprives a trial court of jurisdiction. Only when the charging document fails to sufficiently describe the charged offense will it be so defective as to not charge a crime. See Ayre, 291 Md. at 162-69 (charging document omitted knowledge element of an obscenity offense); State v. Canova, 278 Md. 483, 497-500 (1976) (charging documents failed to accurately describe the public employee status of recipients of alleged bribes). A charging document need not be flawless to vest a court with jurisdiction to adjudicate the charge; rather, the charging document must provide the defendant with notice of the nature of the charge and of the basic facts supporting the elements of that charge.
Here, the Fifth Count charged Mr. Shannon with unlawful possession of a regulated firearm, in violation of
In describing the predicate offense, the Fifth Count stated that Mr. Shannon had previously been convicted of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, which is clearly a disqualifying conviction under
The Fifth Count satisfied the underlying purposes of
While unnecessary or inaccurate language in a charging document might create confusion in some cases, the proper vehicle for challenging the presence of that language in this case would have been a timely motion pursuant to
III
Conclusion
For the reasons discussed above, we hold that the Fifth Count of the indictment provided Mr. Shannon with sufficient notice of the crime charged in that count and adequately described the specific conduct on which that charge was based. That count charged a cognizable crime and showed the jurisdiction of the trial court. To the extent that the drafting error in the indictment otherwise could be a basis for objection, Mr. Shannon waived any such objection by failing to raise it in the Circuit Court.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED. COSTS TO BE PAID BY PETITIONER.
Notes
(1) abduction;
(2) arson in the first degree;
(3) assault in the first or second degree;
(4) burglary in the first, second, or third degree;
(5) carjacking and armed carjacking;
(6) escape in the first degree;
(7) kidnapping;
(8) voluntary manslaughter;
(9) maiming as previously proscribed under former
(10) mayhem as previously proscribed under former
(11) murder in the first or second degree;
(12) rape in the first or second degree;
(13) robbery;
(14) robbery with a dangerous weapon;
(15) sexual offense in the first, second, or third degree;
(16) home invasion under
(17) a felony offense under
(18) an attempt to commit any of the crimes listed in items (1) through (17) of this subsection; or
(19) assault with intent to commit any of the crimes listed in items (1) through (17) of this subsection or a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year.
For its part, the State contends that, while Mr. Shannon‘s actions would have sufficed to consent to an amendment of the Fifth Count, the drafting error did not require an amendment with the defendant‘s consent, as correction of the drafting error would not have changed the character of the crime charged.