Brown v. Sheriff of Prince George's County, 200 Md. 663

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals considered an application for leave to appeal from an order remanding a petitioner after a habeas corpus hearing. The court held that any double-jeopardy defense to pending rape or assault-with-intent-to-rape charges had to be raised at trial and could not be litigated pretrial through habeas corpus, and it denied the application.

Holdings

1. Habeas corpus cannot be used to anticipate and litigate a double-jeopardy defense before trial; the defense must be raised at the trial of the pending criminal case and, if necessary, after an adverse verdict by appeal or motion for a new trial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether habeas corpus could be used before trial to raise the asserted double-jeopardy bar to pending rape or assault-with-intent-to-rape charges.
2. Whether the court should decide whether Brown's prior assault-and-battery conviction legally barred the pending prosecution.

Disposition

writ_denied