159 Md. App. 253 - Alston v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The appellant maintains that, because he could have been convicted under [Criminal Law Article] section 5-622 for the same conduct for which he was convicted under section 445(d)(1)(ii) of Article 27, and a conviction under [Criminal Law Article] section 5-622 would have carried a prison sentence of no more than five years, without a non-eligibility for suspension or parole requirement, under the ‘rule of lenity,’ he could not be sentenced to the mandatory minimum five years without suspension or non-eligibility for parole under section 449(e).” Rather, his sentence could be no more than that authorized under [Criminal Law Article] section 5-622. “The rule of lenity is a principle of statutory construction providing, in its most general application, that, in cases of ambiguity, doubts shall be resolved in favor of criminal defendants.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Alston v. State · 200 Md. App. 159 - State v. Smoot

2. “[T]he State could have prosecuted the appellant, based on the same conduct, for violating CL section [5-622], which was part of the Controlled Dangerous Substances laws, enacted by 1991 Md. Laws, ch. 613; or for violating section 445(d)(1)(h), subject to an enhanced penalty under section 449(e), which was enacted in 2000, as part of the Responsible Gun Safety Act, 2000 Md. Laws, ch. 2. There is no ambiguity as between these provisions, and hence the rule of lenity is not triggered. The State had discretion to prosecute the appellant under the provision carrying the stiffer penalty.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 200 Md. App. 159 - State v. Smoot · 178 Md. App. 478 - State v. Lee

3. “when two statutes proscribe the same conduct and apply different penalties, the prosecutor has unfettered discretion (if he is not discriminating against any class of defendants) to choose between the statutes. So long as the provisions “unambiguously specify the activity and the penalties available upon conviction,” the rule of lenity has no application.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 200 Md. App. 159 - State v. Smoot · 178 Md. App. 478 - State v. Lee