Burnside v. State

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The trial court abused its discretion by choosing to wait until Defendant testified before ruling on the admissibility of Defendant’s prior conviction for purposes of impeachment.Defendant was convicted for possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance. During trial, defense counsel advised Defendant of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and informed him that because he had a prior conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, counsel would ask the court to conduct a balancing test under Maryland Rule 5-609 to determine whether the State would be allowed to use that prior conviction against him. The trial court declined to conduct the balancing test prior to Defendant’s election not to testify. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion when it chose not to give an advance ruling on the admissibility of his prior conviction. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed, concluding that it would have been “premature” for the trial court to engage in a balancing test without observing Defendant’s testimony first. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the trial judge did not need to wait to hear Defendant’s testimony before ruling on the Rule 5-609 motion, and the court’s failure to exercise its discretion constituted an abuse of discretion. View "Burnside v. State" on Justia Law