Griffin v. Lindsey
Griffin v. Lindsey
Opinion of the Court
In Maryland, a victim is not a party to a criminal prosecution. Hoile v. State, 404 Md. 591, 606, 948 A.2d 30, 39 (2008). Nevertheless, crime victims are vested with a number of “specific, but narrow” constitutional and statutory rights in criminal proceedings. Id. at 605, 948 A.2d at 39. For example, Maryland Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol., 2014 Supp.), § 11-603 of the Criminal Procedure Article permits a court to enter a judgment of restitution ordering a defendant to compensate a victim for monetary loss. When a victim alleges that a court failed to consider or improperly denied a restitution request, § ll-103(e) of the Criminal Procedure Article permits the victim to file a motion for reconsideration: “A victim who alleges that the victim’s right to restitution under § 11-603 of this title was not considered or was improperly denied may file a motion requesting relief within 30 days of the denial or alleged failure to consider.” And § 11 — 103(b) of the Criminal Procedure Article permits the victim to file an application for leave to appeal:
Although not a party to a criminal or juvenile proceeding, a victim of a crime for which the defendant or child respon*282 dent is charged may file an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals from an interlocutory order or appeal to the Court of Special Appeals from a final order that denies or fails to consider a right secured to the victim by ... § 11-608 of this title[.]
Pursuant to Maryland Rule 8-204(b), an application for leave to appeal “shall be filed -within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order from which the appeal is sought.” In this case, we consider whether the Court of Special Appeals had jurisdiction to consider an appeal challenging a denial of restitution when the application for leave to appeal was filed more than 30 days after a final sentencing judgment, but less than 30 days after the denial of a motion for reconsideration challenging the sentencing judgment.
FACTS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In May 2011, Petitioner, Shyquille Griffin, and Antonio Whitely arranged to purchase marijuana from Respondent, Andrew Lindsey. When the three met to consummate the transaction, Whitely was dissatisfied with the quantity of marijuana that Lindsey provided. Consequently, Griffin approached Lindsey, who was seated in his vehicle, and asked him “for what else he had in the car.” Whitely then approached with a handgun brandished and pointed the weapon at Lindsey, demanding “everything that he had in the vehicle.” As Lindsey drove off, Whitely shot him in the arm.
Griffin and Whitely were indicted in June 2011 on charges related to the shooting.
At a plea hearing conducted on December 16, 2011, the parties presented the Agreement to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. The hearing judge accepted the terms of the Agreement, concluding that there was a sufficient factual basis for the guilty plea to Count 4. The hearing judge then postponed sentencing until January 2012.
After satisfying the terms of the Agreement,
Invoking § ll-103(e) of the Criminal Procedure Article and arguing that the hearing court improperly denied his request for restitution, Lindsey filed a timely “Motion for Reconsideration of Restitution and Request for Hearing” (“CP § 11— 103(e) Motion”) on February 13, 2012. The Circuit Court denied the CP § ll-103(e) Motion on March 7, 2012, reiterating that ordering restitution would violate the Agreement,
Lindsey filed an “Application for Leave to Appeal to the Court of Special Appeals” (“Application”) on April 5, 2012, which was granted. The intermediate appellate court reversed the Circuit Court, holding that although the Application was untimely with respect to the Circuit Court’s January 13, 2012 sentencing judgment, the Application was timely with respect to the Circuit Court’s March 7, 2012 order denying Lindsey’s CP § ll-103(e) Motion.
1. Do crime victims lack statutory authority to appeal from the denial of a motion for reconsideration under Maryland Code (2008, 2011 Supp.), Criminal Procedure Article § ll-103(e), thus depriving the Court of Special Appeals of jurisdiction to review the [Cjircuit [Cjourt’s denial of Mr. Lindsey’s motion for reconsideration of his request for restitution?
2. Did the circuit court properly deny Mr. Lindsey’s motion for reconsideration of his request for restitution from Mr. Griffin, when the court had already accepted Mr. Griffin’s guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement that prohibited restitution, Mr. Griffin had already per
Because we answer yes to the first question, we need not address the second and shall reverse the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The Circuit Court ruled that Lindsey was not entitled to restitution as a matter of law. We review questions of law without deference. See Walter v. Gunter, 367 Md. 386, 392, 788 A.2d 609, 612 (2002) (“[Wjhere the order involves an interpretation and application of Maryland statutory and case law, our Court must determine whether the lower court’s conclusions are ‘legally correct’ under a de novo standard of review.”).
DISCUSSION
The Circuit Court denied Lindsey’s restitution request on two separate occasions: first on January 13, 2012 when it sentenced Griffin without ordering restitution and then again on March 7, 2012 when it denied Lindsey’s CP § ll-103(e) Motion. Pursuant to Maryland Rules 8-202(a) and 8-204(b), notices of appeal and applications for leave to appeal, respectively, “shall be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order from which the appeal” is taken or sought. The 30-day requirement for notices of appeal “is
Lindsey filed his Application on April 5, 2012 — more than 30 days after the sentencing judgment, but less than 30 days after the Order denying the CP § ll-103(e) Motion. Although Lindsey satisfied Rule 8-204(b)’s 30-day deadline with respect to his CP § 11 — 103(e) Motion, we must address whether, when Lindsey filed his Application, victims had a right to file an application for leave to appeal the denial of CP § 11-103(e) motions. If victims did not have this right, Lindsey’s Application was untimely and, therefore, the Court of Special Appeals did not have jurisdiction to consider his appeal.
Any right of a victim to file an application for leave to appeal, “must originate from the General Assembly, not from this Court.” Lopez-Sanchez v. State, 388 Md. 214, 230, 879 A.2d 695, 704 (2005), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Hoile v. State, 404 Md. at 605, 948 A.2d at 39. When Lindsey filed his Application, Maryland Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol., 2011 Supp.), § 11-103(b) of the Criminal Procedure Article (“CP”) provided victims the right to file applications for leave to appeal when a court denied or failed to consider a right secured by 12 specific statutes, including the restitution provision. Noticeably absent from these 12 statutes, however, was CP § 11-103(e) — the “reconsideration provision.”
Griffin and Lindsey offer competing interpretations of CP § 11 — 103(b). Griffin argues that because the reconsideration provision did not appear in CP § 11 — 103(b), Lindsey did not have a right to file an application for leave to appeal the denial
When interpreting CP § 11 — 103(b), we bear in mind that “[t]he cardinal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and effectuate the intent of the Legislature.” Walzer v. Osborne, 395 Md. 563, 571, 911 A.2d 427, 431 (2006) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). In ascertaining the General Assembly’s intent, we apply our oft-repeated canons of statutory construction:
[W]e begin with the normal, plain meaning of the language of the statute. If the language of the statute is unambiguous and clearly consistent with the statute’s apparent purpose, our inquiry as to legislative intent ends ordinarily and we apply the statute as written, without resort to other rules of construction____We, however, do not read statutory language in a vacuum, nor do we confíne strictly our interpretation of a statute’s plain language to the isolated section alone. Rather, the plain language must be viewed within the context of the statutory scheme to which it belongs, considering the purpose, aim, or policy of the Legislature in enacting the statute.
Williams v. Peninsula Reg’l Med. Ctr., 440 Md. 573, 580-81, 103 A.3d 658, 663 (2014) (alterations in original). Specifically, when construing statutes granting the right to appeal, we must do so narrowly. Rush v. State, 403 Md. 68, 98, 939 A.2d 689, 706 (2008).
Beginning with the plain meaning of the language of the statute, the reconsideration provision is clearly absent from CP § ll-103(b). This is significant because “[t]he prin
Consistent with this doctrine, we have held that when a certain element is not expressly stated in the language of a statute or Maryland Rule, the statute or Rule is unambiguous and does not include that element. For instance, in Rush v. State, supra, we considered whether Maryland Code (1974, 2006 Repl. Vol.), § 12-302(c)(3) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article (“CJP”) permitted a defendant to file a cross-appeal when the State appealed the grant of a motion to suppress. Because the plain language of CJP § 12-302(c)(3) only addressed the State’s right to appeal an order granting suppression,
In State v. Manck, another case dealing with appellate rights under Maryland Code (1973, 2002 Repl. Vol., 2004 Cum. Supp.), § 12-302(c) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, we concluded that the State did not have a right to appeal the trial court’s decision to strike the State’s “Notice of Intention to Seek the Penalty of Death.” 385 Md. 581, 598, 870 A.2d 196, 206 (2005). Because § 12-302(c) did not explicitly identify this type of trial court decision as one from which the State may appeal, we concluded the State “[cjlearly” did not have a right to appeal. Id. We explained that expanding the statute’s appellate rights beyond those explicitly identified in Section 12-302(c) “would violate the separation of powers doctrine.” Id. at 598 n. 13, 870 A.2d at 206 n. 13.
Lindsey argues that we should consider a CP § ll-103(e) motion to be synonymous with an original request for restitution under CP § 11-603. But Lindsey cites no case in which we have held that a motion for reconsideration is the same as, or should be treated the same as, the action that caused the judgment subject to reconsideration. Our independent research, likewise, reveals no such case. Thus, Lindsey cannot overcome the exclusion of the reconsideration provision in CP § ll-103(b) by relying on the inclusion of the restitution provision in CP § 11-103(b).
Not only does Lindsey’s argument defy the unambiguous language of CP § ll-103(b), but also it contradicts our reason
Finally, Lindsey’s argument further fails because accepting it would undermine our rule that we must narrowly construe statutes granting the right to appeal. Rush, 403 Md. at 98, 939 A.2d at 706. Holding that a victim could appeal not only from the denial of or failure to consider a right secured by the 12 statutes enumerated in CP § 11 — 103(b), but also from a motion to reconsider the denial of or failure to consider these
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we hold that Lindsey’s appeal was untimely because CP § 11 — 103(b) did not permit a crime victim to file an application for leave to appeal the denial of a CP § 11 — 103(e) motion. We construe grants of appellate authority narrowly, and the language of CP § 11 — 103(b) is unambiguous — it does not include the right to appeal from a denial of a CP § ll-103(e) motion. Griffin’s January 13, 2012 sentencing was a final judgment, and Lindsey cannot rely on his appeal from the denial of his subsequent motion for reconsideration to escape his failure to timely file his Application after the sentencing. Accordingly, because Lindsey’s appeal was untimely, the Court of Special Appeals did not have jurisdiction to consider it, and we reverse its judgment.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS REVERSED. CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO AFFIRM THE CIRCUIT COURT’S RULING. COSTS TO BE PAID BY RESPONDENTS.
GREENE and McDONALD, JJ., dissent.
. Griffin was charged with 14 Counts: Attempted Murder (Count 1); Attempted Second Degree Murder (Count 2); Attempted Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (Count 3); Attempted Robbery (Count 4); First Degree Assault (Count 5); Second Degree Assault (Count 6); Use of Handgun in Commission of a Crime of Violence (Count 7); Carrying a Handgun (Count 8); Transporting Handgun on Roadway (Count 9); Possessing Regulated Firearm by Person Under 21 Years of Age (Count 10); Attempted Theft (Count 11); Conspiracy to Commit Murder (Count 12); Carrying a Handgun (Count 13); and Transporting Handgun on Roadway (Count 14).
. Whitely also entered a plea agreement with the State.
. Lindsey v. State, 218 Md.App. 512, 527-28, 98 A.3d 340, 349-50, cert. granted sub nom. Griffin v. Lindsey, 441 Md. 61, 105 A.3d 489 (2014).
. Maryland Rule 4-345 governs the revisory power of a sentencing court.
. Lindsey, 218 Md.App. at 549, 98 A.3d at 362.
. Griffin also included several subparts to his second question:
a. Under the principles of Cuffley v. State, 416 Md. 568, 7 A.3d 557 (2010), and Baines v. State, 416 Md. 604, 7 A.3d 578 (2010), does a binding plea agreement prohibit restitution when it makes no mention of restitution and purports to be the "full and complete agreement of the parties”?
b. Does a trial court lack authority to grant a victim’s request for restitution if the victim does not request restitution until after the court has already accepted a plea agreement that prohibits restitution?
c. When a court has already imposed a sentence that does not include restitution, would granting a victim’s request for restitution illegally increase the sentence?
. Kirkwood v. Provident Sav. Bank of Balt., 205 Md. 48, 55, 106 A.2d 103, 107 (1954).
. Maryland Code (1974, 2006 Repl. Vol.), § 12-302(3) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, provided, in relevant part:
(3)(i) In a case involving a crime of violence as defined in § 14-101 of the Criminal Law Article, and in cases under §§ 5-602 through 5-609 and §§ 5-612 through 5-614 of the Criminal Law Article, the State may appeal from a decision of a trial court that excludes evidence offered by the State or requires the return of property alleged to have been seized in violation of the Constitution of the United States, the Maryland Constitution, or the Maryland Declaration of Rights.
(Emphasis added.)
. We indicated that the trial court’s denial of the motions to dismiss was error, but lack of timeliness precluded the appeal:
It is not in the public interest and it is not proper judicial administration or procedure to have criminal cases permanently in limbo, without even the prospect of a judgment ever being entered. Chmurny was found guilty on five counts, but, because he is dead, he cannot be sentenced....
A conviction does not occur in a criminal case until sentence is imposed on a verdict of guilty. That is when judgment is entered. A verdict of guilty alone constitutes neither a conviction nor a sentence and does not constitute a source of relevant legal authority....
Thus, as the case now stands, there is no conviction and no judgment, and, under the court’s ruling, there never will be a conviction or judgment; the case will remain permanently open and incomplete on the docket____
Because the case can never move forward to judgment, the only way to bring closure to the case is to abate the proceeding ab initio— to vacate the verdicts and the indictment. That is what must be done in these rare cases, and that is what should be done, as a matter of course, when, upon dismissal of this appeal, the case returns to the Circuit Court.
Chmurny v. State, 392 Md. 159, 167-68, 896 A.2d 354, 358-59 (2006) (internal citations, quotation marks, and alteration omitted).
. See, e.g., Hoile v. State, 404 Md. 591, 612, 948 A.2d 30, 43 (2008) ("When sentence is pronounced or imposed, there is a final judgment for purposes of appeal.” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).
. Maryland Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol., 2014 Supp.), § ll-103(c) of the Criminal Procedure Article provides that "[t]he filing of an application for leave to appeal ... does not stay other proceedings in a criminal or juvenile case unless all parties consent.” We interpret this provision to mean that a victim is not precluded from simultaneously applying for leave to appeal in an appellate court and moving for reconsideration in a trial court. The situation is similar to that of a defendant who may simultaneously note an appeal and move for reconsideration of the defendant's sentence by a three-judge panel in the trial court. See Gardner v. State, 420 Md. 1, 6, 20 A.3d 801, 804 (2011) ("Petitioner, as he is entitled to do, noted an appeal from the judgments of conviction and sought review of the sentence by a three-judge panel[.]”).
Dissenting Opinion
which McDONALD, J., joins.
I respectfully dissent.
Against the General Assembly’s goal in enacting § 11-103 of the Criminal Procedure Article (“CP”) — which serves to protect the rights victims of crimes are afforded by law — the majority in essence holds that a victim
As the majority has outlined in greater detail, on January 13, 2012, the state informed the trial court during sentencing that Lindsey sought restitution. This motion was denied by the court on the grounds that restitution would violate the terms of Griffin’s plea agreement. The trial court proceeded to sentence Griffin to 15 years of incarceration, with all but 18 months suspended, along with three years of supervised probation. As the majority notes, following the trial court’s denial of Lindsey’s request for restitution, Respondent filed a timely motion for reconsideration pursuant to CP § 11— 103(e)(2) on February 13, 2012, attaching his medical bills to the motion.
Under CP § 11 — 103(b), as it existed at the time, “a victim of a violent crime ... may file an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals from an interlocutory or final order that denies or fails to consider a right secured to the victim by ... § 11-603 of this title[.]” The “right secured” by CP § 11-603 is the right to restitution. The statute provides in relevant part:
(a) A court may enter a judgment of restitution that orders a defendant ... to make restitution in addition to any other penalty for the commission of a crime or delinquent act, if:
(2) as a direct result of the crime ... the victim suffered:
(i) actual medical ... expenses or losses[.]
(b) A victim is presumed to have a right to restitution under subsection (a) of this section if:
(1) the victim or the State requests restitution; and
(2) the court is presented with competent evidence of
any item listed in subsection (a) of this section.
CP § 11-603 (emphasis added).
Although the majority is correct that CP § ll-103(e)(2)— the vehicle by which Respondent timely challenged the trial court’s January 13, 2012 denial of the request for restitution— is not specifically listed in § 11 — 103(b), the right secured by § ll-103(e)(2) is the very same right to restitution. The General Assembly connected these two provisions in CP § 11-
The holding of the majority leads to an odd statutory scheme, out of step with the General Assembly’s trend in granting victims rights, see Lopez-Sanchez v. State, 388 Md. 214, 230 879 A.2d 695, 704 (2005) (Wilner, J., concurring), superseded by statute as recognized in Hoile v. State, 404 Md. 591, 605, 948 A.2d 30, 39 (2008). In the majority’s view, when Respondent’s initial motion for restitution on January 13, 2012
A major concern of the majority appears to be that future victims, and possibly defendants as well, could “allow the time for noting an appeal from [a final, appealable] judgment to lapse and escape the jurisdictional bar by filing another, identical motion or a motion to reconsider the earlier ruling months or years later and then appealing the denial of that second motion.” Maj. Op. at 290, 119 A.3d at 760 (quoting Chmurny v. State, 392 Md. 159, 166, 896 A.2d 354, 358 (2006)). This concern, in part, appears to arise from the situation in Chmumy which the majority discusses at length. The extraordinary circumstances of Chmurny, involving the defen
There is no suggestion in the record that Respondent was attempting to skirt the thirty day filing requirement under CP § ll-103(b). Indeed, Respondent submitted a timely motion to reconsider the trial court’s decision at sentencing — a decision that should not be punished. The majority’s concern, whatever its worth might be in another case, is without merit in the instant matter because, under CP § 11-103(e)(2)®, Respondent had only thirty days to “file a motion requesting relief.” Affirming the Court of Special Appeals would not lead to any of the consequences contemplated by Chmurny. Because the victim produced competent evidence of his medical expenses, the trial judge in the instant case was bound by law, absent extraordinary circumstances not present in this case, to order restitution and lacked the discretion to do otherwise. See CP § ll-603(b) (“A victim is presumed to have a right to restitution under subsection (a) of this section if ... the victim or the State requests restitution; and ... the court is presented with competent evidence of any item listed in subsection (a) of this section.”).
Furthermore, affirming the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals would be consistent with appeals from denials of motions for reconsideration in other legal contexts. See, e.g., Wilson-X v. Dept. of Human Res., 403 Md. 667, 674-75, 944 A.2d 509, 514 (2008) (“[T]he ruling on a motion for reconsideration is ordinarily discretionary, and [ ] the standard of review in such a circumstance is whether the court abused its discretion in denying the motion.”); Grimberg v. Marth, 338 Md. 546, 553, 659 A.2d 1287, 1290 (1995) (finding that an appeal, filed more than thirty days after judgment but fewer than thirty days after denial of motion for reconsideration, would lie and that the scope of review would be “limited to whether the trial judge abused his discretion in declining to reconsider the judgment”); First Federated Commodity Trust Corp. v.
Accordingly, I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.
Judge McDONALD has authorized me to state that he joins in this dissenting opinion.
. Although, as a participant to a drug deal gone awry, Lindsey is perhaps an unsympathetic victim, the majority’s ruling will impact all victims’ rights, including those to whom no fault can be attributed.
. While the majority may be correct that a victim is not precluded from simultaneously moving for reconsideration and applying for leave to appeal, it is not clear that victims — who are not parties to the underlying criminal case — are or ought to be required to do so in order to preserve their appellate rights. Moreover, it took nearly a month for the trial court to rule on the motion for reconsideration.
. At the time Respondent filed his motion, CP § 11-103(e)(2) provided: "A victim who alleges that the victim's right to restitution under CP § 11-603 of this title was not considered or was improperly denied may file a motion requesting relief within 30 days of the denial or alleged failure to consider.” This language remains a part of the current statute, however, it now appears in CP § 11 — 103(e)(4). See Chapter 363, 2013 Laws of Maryland (renumbering § 11-103(e)(2) to § 11-103(e)(4), among other things).
. Through this legislation, the General Assembly intended to provide victims an opportunity to develop a record at the trial level in order to preserve their rights. See Bill File to H.B. 801, Letter from Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith in Support of H.B. 801 (2011) (“HB 801 would provide the option to allow the victim who was not notified of the proceeding to ask the trial court for relief. If denied, the victim would have created the record to seek an application for leave to appeal[.]”). Moreover, H.B. 801 permitted trial courts to revise prior determinations on restitution without requiring the victim to seek appellate relief. See Bill File to H.B. 801, Testimony of Roberta Roper and Russell P. Butler, Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, Inc., in Support of H.B. 801 (2011) ("[A] [t]rial court’s authority will be clarified [by H.B. 801] to have the ability to revise determinations on restitution without a victim seeking to file leave to appeal in the Court of Special Appeals.”).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Shyquille GRIFFIN v. Andrew LINDSEY, Et Al.
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- 17 cases
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- Published