What are post-trial rights of the defendant?

In certain types of criminal cases, a defendant has ninety days from the date of sentencing to file a motion asking for a 3-judge panel to review the sentence that was imposed by the sentencing judge. The sentencing judge cannot be part of the panel but may be consulted by the panel. If the panel grants a hearing, it may deny the request, keep the original sentence the same, reduce the sentence, or increase it to the statutory maximum that the law provides for each individual crime for which the defendant was convicted.

In a criminal case, once a finding of guilt has been made, the defendant has 90 days from the date of sentencing to ask the judge to reconsider the sentence given. Under Maryland law, the judge then has 5 years from the date of the request to rule on the motion. The judge may deny the motion without a hearing. Alternatively, the judge may decide to hold a hearing and then may deny the motion thereafter, or he or she may grant the motion and modify the defendant’s sentence, typically a reduction in the amount of jail time originally imposed.

In general, every defendant who is found guilty of a crime has certain appeal rights. If the defendant is found guilty by way of a guilty plea in District Court, the defendant can appeal the verdict and sentence to the Circuit Court and have his or her entire case heard again. If a defendant is found guilty by way of a guilty plea in Circuit Court, the defendant only can ask the Court of Special Appeals to review the propriety of the plea colloquy, that is, whether the defendant understood the trial rights that he or she gave up by pleading guilty, whether the defendant understood the crime to which he or she was pleading guilty, and whether the defendant voluntarily entered into the guilty plea. The defendant may also ask the Court of Appeals to review whether the sentence imposed by the trial judge was a legal sentence. The Court of Special Appeals is not required to agree to hear the defendant’s request for an appeal following a guilty plea but instead has discretion to do so.

If a defendant is found guilty in the Circuit Court by way of a judge or jury trial, he or she has an automatic right to appeal the case to the Court of Special Appeals. The defendant may ask the court to review the entire record of the case to determine whether any legal errors occurred, including those made by the trial judge, which likely affected the outcome of the case.