Jones v. State

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals considered whether Maryland Public Safety Article § 5-133(b), which prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a regulated firearm, has an applicable penalty provision. The court held that § 5-143 supplies the penalty for a violation of § 5-133(b) and that an out-of-state conviction may serve as the predicate disqualifying conviction. The court affirmed the conviction but remanded for resentencing because the trial court improperly imposed the mandatory five-year sentence applicable to a different statutory provision.

Holdings

1. Public Safety Article § 5-143 supplies the penalty for a violation of § 5-133(b); therefore, unlawful possession of a regulated firearm by a person previously convicted of a disqualifying felony is a criminal offense subject to the penalty in § 5-143.
2. A conviction from another state may serve as the predicate conviction for § 5-133(b) when the offense would have been classified as a felony in Maryland.
3. Because § 5-133(c)'s mandatory five-year, no-parole sentence did not apply to Jones's § 5-133(b) conviction, the sentence was illegal and had to be vacated in full, followed by a new sentencing proceeding.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Public Safety Article § 5-143 supplies the penalty for a violation of § 5-133(b), so that a violation of § 5-133(b) constitutes a crime.
2. Whether an out-of-state conviction may serve as the predicate disqualifying felony for a violation of § 5-133(b).
3. Whether the trial court's imposition of the mandatory five-year, no-parole sentence under § 5-133(c) required vacatur of the sentence and a new sentencing proceeding.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded