State v. Prue, 414 Md. 531

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals addressed whether a trial judge's failure to announce verdicts on several counts in a multicount criminal case constituted acquittals. The court held that silence ordinarily operates as an acquittal, subject to exceptions including circumstances involving lesser-included offenses, jury instructions, or a hung jury. The court vacated the relevant portion of the Court of Special Appeals' judgment and remanded for analysis of whether counts 3 through 8 were lesser-included offenses under the required evidence test.

Holdings

1. When a trial judge or jury renders verdicts on some counts but remains silent on other counts, the silence ordinarily constitutes acquittals on the omitted counts, including in a nonjury criminal trial.
2. The silence-as-acquittal rule does not necessarily apply when the omitted count was not submitted because of a court instruction or verdict-sheet direction, when the jury formally disagreed, or when the omitted count charged a lesser included offense under the required evidence test.
3. The portion of the Court of Special Appeals' judgment directing correction of the docket entries for counts 3 through 8 must be vacated, and the case must be remanded for determination of which omitted offenses are lesser included offenses of counts 1 or 2.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial judge's silence when rendering verdicts on certain counts of a multicount criminal indictment ordinarily constitutes acquittals on those counts.
2. Whether the exception for a guilty verdict on a greater offense and silence on a lesser included offense applies to the omitted counts.
3. Whether the Court of Special Appeals properly ordered correction of the docket entries without determining which omitted offenses were lesser included offenses under the required evidence test.

Disposition

vacated