Maryland Criminal & Immigration Lawyer Blog

When the State May — and May Not — Use Your Conviction History Against You in a Maryland Criminal Trial

May 9, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Many people facing a criminal trial have a history with the system. Often, prosecutors want to use that criminal history to bolster their case. The fact that you have a criminal past does not prove that you committed a specific crime, and, recognizing that, the law substantially limits when the state can use your past criminal violations in your current case. If you have a criminal history and are currently facing charges, an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer can provide essential aid in protecting your right to a fair trial.

Take, for example, the criminal trial of S.M. from Baltimore. After S.M. fled from Baltimore police detectives who questioned him about a nearby car, the detectives opened the vehicle and found a loaded handgun. The state brought criminal charges because the man was disqualified from possessing a firearm.

In the gun case, the prosecution wanted to present to the jury evidence that, in 2017, the state convicted the man of possessing a large amount of drugs in violation of Section 5-612 of the Criminal Code.

A Look at Maryland Search and Seizure Law… and How the Law Can Sometimes Mirror Sports

April 23, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

This blog devotes a lot of space to the suppression of evidence before a trial of an accused person. That is because warrantless searches that violate your Fourth Amendment rights occur frequently, and the inclusion or exclusion of the evidence the police obtained in an illegal search or seizure may represent the difference between a conviction or an acquittal (or dismissal) of the charges against you. Given the importance of these arguments, it pays to ensure you have an experienced and effective Maryland criminal defense lawyer on your side when facing drug or weapons charges.

Take, for example, a recent evidence suppression case from Prince George’s County. The evidence the police obtained during a vehicle search was inadmissible at trial because the police lacked an appropriate basis for searching the interior of the defendant’s car.

In reaching that conclusion, the Appellate Court helpfully laid out some “ground rules” for what is — and what is not — a legal vehicle search. The court’s recitation of the law serves as a notable reminder of two things:

Small details (and differences) can matter a great deal in a search-and-seizure case, and
Search-and-seizure law concepts can sometimes be analogized to sports.

Withholding of Removal, the Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and the Difference Between Withholding and Asylum

April 9, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

People across Maryland and around the country have followed with ever-increasing closeness the deportation case of Prince George’s County resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The case has brought several aspects of immigration law into the public eye. Most people are familiar with some of the terminology; other terms are likely new. While the issues surrounding this man’s deportation raise many important and unsettled questions, the controversy shows clearly that immigration matters can be complicated, intricate, and multi-layered. That is why, if you are facing deportation or other immigration action, you need a Maryland immigration lawyer on your side who possesses a complete and in-depth understanding of all aspects of immigration law.

Two of those terms are “asylum” and “withholding of removal.” People outside the community of immigration lawyers are more likely to be familiar with the former than with the latter. Today, we will examine both in some detail to help clarify the differences between them.

Asylum

Asylum specifically refers to a form of protection the U.S. grants to non-citizens who cannot return to their country of citizenship because doing so would place them at risk of persecution. To secure asylum, a non-citizen (or their attorney) must persuade an immigration judge not only that they fear persecution if returned to their country of citizenship, but that their fear is a “well-founded” one. A person may seek (and obtain) asylum whether they are documented or undocumented.

The Process of Voir Dire and Discovering Potential Jurors’ Biases for the Prosecution or Against the Defense

March 27, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

A criminal trial in Maryland is always a monumentally stressful situation, as your freedom often is on the line. One way to ensure you receive justice is to maximize the fairness of your trial, and one way to do that is through juror selection. Effectively executing the juror selection process helps ensure that the jury that decides your fate is impartial. Juror selection is one of the many settings — before, during, and after trial — where having a skilled Maryland criminal defense lawyer is vitally important.

A common problem accused people and defense attorneys face is the tendency among some prospective jurors to associate witnesses for the state (like police officers and experts testifying for the prosecution) with integrity and credibility and connect witnesses for the defense with untrustworthiness. Identifying and excluding those potential jurors is crucial to a fair trial and a successful defense.

That element of juror selection was central to a recent felony case from Baltimore. The defendant, R.A., was on trial for shooting a man during a June 2022 party at the city’s Inner Harbor. The state put him on trial for the shooting in 2023.

What the Columbia U. Protester’s Deportation Case Can Tell You About Deporting Green Card Holders

March 14, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Mid-March and the onset of springtime are often associated with one color more than most: green. That color represents the budding of new foliage and St. Patrick’s Day. For many immigrants, the color “green” has a different and more critical association — a green card. Recent events, however, have raised an important question: can I be deported if I have already gotten my green card? The short answer is yes, under certain circumstances. Whether you are a visa holder, a green card holder, or undocumented, a deportation action is something you must treat with the highest degree of care. That includes promptly retaining an experienced Maryland deportation defense lawyer.

In recent days, the federal government has begun steps to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and a green card holder. Currently, the government is detaining the man in Louisiana.

Green card holders can be subject to deportation. Many times, the triggering event is a crime. For the government to deport a green card holder for a criminal violation, the crime must have been serious. The sorts of crimes that can lead to deportation include major drug crimes, fraud, or “aggravated felonies.” (This phrase refers to crimes such as child pornography, rape, murder, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking.)

The Visa Waiver Program, B-2 Travel Visas, and the 2026 World Cup

February 21, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

The majority of the non-English-speaking world calls it football, while most of the English-speaking world calls it soccer. Whatever you call it, it is the most popular team sport on the planet. The sport’s crown jewel event — the World Cup — is coming to the USA (as well as Canada and Mexico) next year. The volume of international travelers visiting the USA next year will be massive. For many, attending the World Cup will require navigating the often intricate and complicated world of travel visas. Whether you need a travel visa or another type of visa, ensuring you complete your application correctly the first time is crucial, which is why having representation from a Maryland travel visa lawyer is a must.

According to the FIFA (soccer’s governing body) website, nine of the top 16 national teams in the world call Europe home. South America is the second most represented continent, with four squads. Asia has one (Japan), and Africa has one (Morocco.) If you live in Japan or any of those nine European countries and want to attend World Cup matches in person, traveling to the USA is a comparatively simple process. Japan, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Croatia are among the 37 nations that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Citizens of these countries may spend up to 90 days in the USA without obtaining a visa. To travel without a visa, you must have approval from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before you embark on your journey. ESTA is an automated online tool that assesses your eligibility to travel to the USA.

What is (and is Not) Proper Justification for a Maryland Traffic Stop Based on a Driver’s Use of Cell Phone While Driving

February 14, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Driving in Maryland carries many potential risks. You could become involved in a crash, your vehicle could break down, … or the police could pull you over for a traffic violation and use that stop to find evidence of more significant crimes. In that last scenario, police sometimes overstep their bounds and engage in unconstitutional searches. When that happens, the difference between a conviction and an acquittal (or — even better — a dismissal) may be successfully getting the evidence from that search suppressed. Doing so usually means making a well-timed and well-worded pretrial motion. When it comes to this and other motions, representation provided by an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer is often an integral ingredient in a successful defense.

One problem in traffic stop situations is that people do not know their rights and may consent to things that the law gives them the right to refuse. A drug case from Hagerstown is a good example of this, as well as a scenario where the police overstepped.

M.S. was driving when a police officer spotted what, to the officer, looked like M.S. using the cell phone mounted to the front dash. Specifically, the officer testified that it looked like the driver was touching the phone with his right hand as he drove.

Conducting Voir Dire in a Maryland Handgun Murder Case

January 17, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

A successful defense against criminal charges is a journey of many steps. All steps are critical to reaching the desired destination, even if some occur before either side makes an opening statement at trial. Presenting the most robust and effective defense possible means ensuring that all of these steps are attended to with utmost care and in-depth knowledge of the law and the rules of procedure. If you are facing charges, make sure you are equipped to put that kind of defense by retaining an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer.

One vital pretrial step is proper discovery. Another is conducting voir dire and selecting a jury.

The murder trial of Z. A.-M., a man accused of fatally shooting a high school assistant principal from Baltimore, was one of those cases where voir dire was crucially important.

How Supporting Documentation Errors Can Derail a Green Card Application

January 3, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Any area of the law is one where having a detail-oriented advocate can help, but that skill set is essential in immigration law. Successfully obtaining citizenship, a green card, or another status often requires correctly filling out multiple forms and supplementing them with numerous supporting documents. Filling out any of this paperwork incorrectly or failing to include an essential supporting document can torpedo your entire application. That is why, whatever status (or change in status) you seek, you need a knowledgeable Maryland immigration lawyer on your side.

A green card application case from last October is yet another case in point. S.G., a citizen of India, entered the U.S. in March 2023 on a visitor visa. Later in March, S.G.’s son, a U.S. citizen living in Chicago, filed a Form I-130 to classify his mother as his “immediate relative,” thereby qualifying her to receive a green card. The mother, in turn, filed a Form I-485, which is the application to register permanent residence or adjust status. In this case, the mother sought to adjust her status from visitor to permanent resident.

Under the eligibility rules for green cards, an immediate relative of U.S. citizens qualifies if they are the citizen’s:

USCIS Creates a New Regulation Designed to ‘Modernize’ H-1B Visa Requirements

December 30, 2024 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

H-1B visas help workers in various professions, from engineers and scientists to IT professionals, doctors, architects, teachers, and investment bankers. The application process for obtaining an H-1B visa can be complicated, so whether you are a potential sponsor or H-1B visa recipient, obtaining representation from an experienced Maryland immigration lawyer is often essential to mastering the system.

An essential part of this mastery is keeping up with the latest changes and evolutions in the law and the applicable regulations. Earlier this month, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services released a significant new regulation, the “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers” Final Rule.

The new rule makes several noteworthy adjustments related to H-1B visas. It amends the definition of “specialty occupation.” The current regulation says a “baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum requirement” to serve as a qualifying specialty occupation. The new amendment clarifies that “normally” in this sense does not mean “always.”