Charles Cnty. Cir. Ct. Criminal DCM Plan (introduction)

The Circuit Court for Charles County, Maryland

Criminal Differentiated Case Management (DCM) Plan

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Table of Contents

Introduction

This Criminal Differentiated Case Management (DCM) Plan is established in accordance

with Maryland Rule 16-302(b)(1)(A) which requires the County Administrative Judge to

develop and, upon approval by the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals,

implement and monitor a case management plan for the prompt and efficient scheduling

and disposition of actions in the circuit court.

Statement of Purpose

From the commencement of litigation to its resolution, whether by trial or settlement, any

elapsed time, other than reasonably required for pleadings, discovery, and court events, is

unacceptable and should be eliminated. To enable just and efficient resolution of cases, the

court, not the lawyers or litigants, must control the pace of litigation. A strong judicial

commitment is essential to reducing delay, eliminating backlog, and, once achieved,

maintaining a current docket.

Consistent with the Case Time Standards adopted by the Judicial Council, Constitutional

requirements and applicable Maryland Rules, it is the goal of this plan to ensure that all

criminal cases, jury and non-jury, be concluded within 180 days of the date of first

appearance of the defendant or his/her counsel, whichever is earlier. In order to achieve

this goal, the circuit court is committed to resolving different categories of cases within a

regular and predictable time frame, warranted by the needs of those cases. For simpler

cases, the warranted time frame is shorter than 180 days.

Case Type Summary

Circuit court criminal case processing in Maryland is complex and involves multiple

stakeholders, courts, and agencies. It begins with a felony or misdemeanor case that,

typically, is first a complaint filed in the District Court. For some felony cases, including

homicides, an investigation may occur, and an arrest made, after an indictment by a grand

jury.

The DCM plan for circuit court criminal case types includes both felony and misdemeanor

cases. Felony cases typically originate in the District Court and are filed as an indictment or

information in the circuit court by the State’s Attorney. Misdemeanor cases are

predominantly heard in the District Court and are filed in circuit court on a prayer for jury

trial or an appeal from the District Court, at the request of the defense. If a jury trial is

requested in the District Court, the case must be heard in circuit court. A jury trial may be

requested by the defendant for any case involving charges carrying a penalty of at least 90

days incarceration at any stage of the process, up to, and including, the date of trial in the

District Court.

Criminal Tracks

A criminal case may follow one of four distinct tracks to resolution. Tracks define:

expected case processing events; the timing of events; assignment; and the expectations for

case duration. The caseflow time standard for circuit court criminal cases is 180 days from

the first court appearance of defendant, or the entry of appearance by counsel, to

disposition, for 98% of cases.

Disposition may include: guilty plea; guilty verdict; not guilty verdict; STET1; and entry of

nolle prosequi2. “Disposition” does not include sentencing for guilty pleas or verdicts.

Sentencing may occur on the same day as a guilty plea or verdict, or it may be postponed

up to 60 days to conduct a pre-sentence investigation. For criminal case tracks, expected

case durations are based on a consensus of time needed to reach disposition, which may be

less than the time standard. Expected case duration is not a time standard.

Assignment Office Scheduling

All cases are scheduled based on the assigned track. Cases are assigned a track by the

Assignment Office upon receipt of the case for scheduling. Track 1 cases are jury trial

1 A case placed on the Stet docket becomes inactive and technically closed in the court system.

2 A decision made, either before or during trial, resulting in the State’s Attorney’s Office declining to further pursue the case

against the defendant.

prayers and District Court appeals. Track 2 cases are non-violent felonies wherein the

State’s Attorney’s Office and the defendant are each entitled to four peremptory juror

challenges (4 and 4). Track 3 cases are felony charges wherein the defendant’s exposure is

imprisonment for 20 years or more, but less than life imprisonment. The State’s Attorney’s

Office is entitled to five peremptory juror challenges, and the defendant is entitled to 10

peremptory jury challenges (PC10). Track 4 cases are violent felonies, such as murder and

rape, wherein the defendant’s exposure is life imprisonment. The State’s Attorney’s Office

is entitled to 10 peremptory juror challenges, and the defendant is entitled to 20

peremptory jury challenges (PC20).

The Assignment Office will provide a hearing notice, with all future dates, to be given to the

State’s Attorney’s Office and defendant’s attorney at the initial appearance. The Assignment

Office will not send additional notices of scheduled hearings, absent a change to scheduled

hearing dates or the scheduling of additional dates. The initial dates will not be cleared

with the State's Attorney's Office or the defendant/defense attorney.

Co-defendants will be scheduled on the same date for all hearings, with the exception of the

trial date. Trial dates for co-defendants will be initially set on different dates, subject to the

court’s granting a Motion for Joinder.

Criminal Track Chart

Track 1 – Jury Trial Prayers, District Court Appeals

Event Timing

Initial Appearance/Status MUST First Appearance by Defendant

APPEAR

Discovery Status/Regarding Counsel Within 30 days from Initial Appearance

Pretrial /Plea Hearing Within one week prior to trial date

Trial Approximately 60 days from Initial

Appearance

Sentencing (if guilty) Same day or 30 days after verdict, typically

Track 2 – Non-Violent Felony Cases

Event Timing

Initial Appearance MUST APPEAR First Appearance by Defendant

Discovery Status/Regarding Counsel Within 30 days from Initial Appearance

Motions Hearing Approximately 30 days prior to trial

Pretrial/Plea Hearing Within one week prior to trial date

Trial Approximately 90 days from Initial Appearance

Sentencing (if guilty) Same day or within 60 days after trial, typically

Track 3 – Felony Cases

Event Timing

Initial Appearance MUST APPEAR First Appearance by Defendant

Discovery Status/Regarding Counsel Within 30 days from Initial Appearance

Motions Hearing Approximately 60 days prior to trial

Pretrial/Plea Hearing Within one week prior to trial date

Trial Approximately 120 days from Initial Appearance

Sentencing (if guilty) Same day or within 60 days after trial, typically

Track 4 – Complex Cases

Event Timing

Initial Appearance MUST APPEAR First Appearance by Defendant

Regarding Counsel (if needed) Within 14 days from Initial Appearance

Scheduling Conference Within 30 days from Initial Appearance

Discovery Status To be set at Scheduling Conference

Motions Hearings To be set at Scheduling Conference

Pretrial/Plea Hearing Within one week prior to trial

Trial Approximately 120 - 150 days from Initial

Appearance

Sentencing (if guilty) Same day or within 60 days after trial, typically

Track 1 - Jury Trial Prayers (JTP) And District Court Appeal

Cases

The right to a trial by jury attaches to criminal charges punishable by more than 90 days in

prison.

A District Court defendant facing misdemeanor charges may request a jury trial at any time

during the process, up to, and including, the trial date in District Court. Many defendants

with citation offenses do not generally have a right to a jury trial, because the maximum

penalty for all charges is below the minimum threshold for a jury trial.

Appeals from the District Court are de novo3 trials, regardless of penalty, in the circuit

court.

Filing

Jury trial prayers (JTPs) are filed in the District Court upon demand by the defense. The

District Court transfers a case when a jury trial is prayed to the circuit court within 10-14

days of the demand. Appeals from District Court must be filed by the defense within 30

days of entry of a judgment or order.

3 A new trial on the merits

Scheduling

All JTPs and District Court appeals are scheduled for trial within 60 days of the defendant’s

first appearance in the circuit court. No judge assignment will be made until after the plea

or trial date. The judge who presided over the plea/trial will be assigned for sentencing.

Initial hearing dates will not be cleared with counsel. Any postponements based on officer,

witness or attorney unavailability must be filed, in writing, within two weeks of the initial

appearance.

Initial Appearance/Status Hearing

An initial appearance/status hearing is scheduled to be held two weeks after the week a

JTP is demanded. District Court appeals are scheduled for an initial appearance within 30

days after the receipt of the District Court appeal. At the initial appearance/status, the

court will advise an unrepresented defendant of the right to counsel and provide a referral

to the Office of the Public Defender, if requested. The court will also inquire as to the status

of discovery (was discovery provided to the defendant/defendant's attorney in District

Court). The defendant and counsel must appear at the Initial Appearance/Status hearing.

The defendant may plead guilty at this hearing.

Discovery Status/Regarding Counsel Hearing

For most JTPs and District Court appeals, formal discovery in the circuit court is not

required, with the expectation that discovery took place in the District Court. A discovery

status/regarding counsel hearing will be scheduled within 30 days of the defendant's first

appearance in circuit court. The court will inquire as to: the status of discovery; whether or

not the defendant has representation; and whether plea negotiations have occurred. If the

defendant does not have counsel, he/she will be advised, again, of his/her right to

representation and that, if he/she appears at the next hearing without an attorney, he/she

may be deemed to have waived the right to an attorney, and the case may proceed with the

defendant representing himself/herself. The defendant must appear at the discovery

status/regarding counsel hearing unless counsel has entered their appearance. Defendant’s

counsel may waive defendant’s appearance at the discovery status/regarding counsel

hearing. The defendant may plead guilty at this hearing.

Pretrial/Plea Hearing

A pretrial/plea hearing will be scheduled one week prior to the trial date. Any unresolved

pretrial motions will be addressed at this time. At the pretrial/plea hearing, the State’s

Attorney and defense counsel must present either a negotiated plea agreement, or a jointly-

signed trial readiness checklist. If the parties reach a plea agreement, the judge will take the

plea on that date.

A trial readiness checklist will include the following elements: