235 Md. App. 175 - Ford v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “1. Under Maryland Rule 5-404(a)(2)(C), which provides, "In a homicide case, the prosecutor may offer evidence of the alleged victim's trait of peacefulness to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor," is the State allowed to present evidence of the alleged victim's trait of peacefulness, in its case[-]in[-]chief, to rebut opening statements by defense counsel that the defendant was not the aggressor and acted in self-defense? 2. What is the correct standard for determining whether a defendant's conduct is too ambiguous or equivocal to be admissible as evidence of "consciousness of guilt"? 3. Where the State was permitted to elicit testimony that [Ford] went to the house of a witness after he stabbed the victim, that when the witness asked him to leave [Ford] "slammed" the door and "cursed" out the witness, that [Ford] also told the witness, inter alia , that he left the scene of the stabbing because he was "scared" of the "police" and that he did not think there was a self-defense law in Maryland, and where the [prosecutor] in closing argument contrasted [Ford]'s reaction to being asked to leave, during which he "raged around," with the "easy[ ]going" nature of the victim, inviting an "improper inference," according to the Court of Special Appeals, did the [circuit] court err in admitting the witness's testimony regarding [Ford]'s reaction to being asked to leave as evidence of "consciousness of guilt"? [ 1 ]”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ford v. State

2. “We hold that the circuit court reasonably allowed McQueen and Kane to testify to Eltahir's character for peacefulness in response to Ford's opening statement.... The reasonableness of the court's decision here is underscored by the three decisions discussed above ... allowing trial courts to admit otherwise inadmissible evidence for the purpose of anticipatory rehabilitation and rebuttal. Because Maryland Rule 5-611(a) gives trial courts the discretion to allow anticipatory rehabilitation, it could reasonably be interpreted as providing trial courts the discretion to allow anticipatory rebuttal evidence under Maryland Rule 5-404(a)(2)(C). Such a conclusion would be consistent with the dicta [in one case], which would allow the anticipatory rebuttal of evidence referenced in an opening statement. Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the [circuit] court acted in an arbitrary or capricious manner. We hold, therefore, that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in allowing McQueen and Kane to testify to Eltahir's character for peacefulness.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ford v. State

3. “I have stayed away from the whole temper thing, based on what the Court has said so far, and I'm not going to ask her anything about his reputation or any of that, just what he did that morning.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ford v. State