Attempted First-Degree Murder

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.

How ‘Imperfect’ Self-Defense Applies to Criminal Cases in Maryland

July 17, 2024 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Most people are aware of the legal defense of “self-defense.” Most people do not know, however, that the law recognizes more than one type of self-defense. Depending on the facts of a case, the accused may be entitled to assert what the law calls “perfect” or “imperfect” self-defense. Each offers its own ways of helping an accused person. When facing a serious criminal matter, you should talk to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer, who can provide insight into the affirmative defenses available under this state’s laws, including self-defense.

In Maryland, “perfect” self-defense requires an accused person to prove that he had an actual fear of “immediate or imminent… bodily harm,” and that this belief was objectively reasonable. “Imperfect” self-defense requires proving that the accused acted on an actual fear of immediate or imminent bodily harm, even if that belief was unreasonable. Perfect self-defense is a complete defense and, when proven, entitles an accused person to an acquittal. Imperfect self-defense negates the element of malice, allowing, for example, a person facing a murder charge to receive a conviction for the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter.

Recently, the Appellate Court of Maryland weighed in regarding when an accused person is entitled to demand that his jury receive an instruction regarding imperfect self-defense.

When the State is — and Isn’t — Entitled to a Jury Instruction About Fleeing the Scene of the Crime in a Maryland Criminal Case

July 23, 2021 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

There’s so much minutia that goes into a truly proper and complete defense in a criminal case. Whatever the alleged crime, but especially if that crime is a major felony, a conviction has the potential to drastically alter your life for the worse. Don’t leave your future to chance; make sure that you have the right Maryland criminal defense lawyer on your side to protect you to the maximum extent possible under the law.

An attempted murder case from Baltimore is a good example of just how much procedural details may matter. The victim, E.T., was playing dice in Baltimore when he got into an argument with another man. After E.T. punched the man, that man left but returned one minute later, whereupon he chased and shot E.T., critically wounding him. Immediately after shooting E.T., the shooter fled. All of this was recorded on nearby video camera footage.

The state charged D.W. with the shooting, putting him on trial for attempted first-degree murder. D.W.’s defense was a straightforward one: he wasn’t the shooter. The prosecution asked the trial judge to give the jury an instruction on “flight.”

How You May Be Able to Use the Prosecution’s Choices Against Them in Your Maryland Criminal Case

April 9, 2021 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Sometimes, a successful defense in a criminal case is like the reverse of building a house of cards or one of those tower-building puzzle games. The prosecution’s job is to build a case based on proven facts that satisfy the requirements of the crime(s) charged. On the defense side, defeating that prosecution may be a matter of removing one or two items, and then allowing the entire structure to collapse. Even if you’ve been caught in some tough circumstances, the right Maryland criminal defense attorney potentially can help you do just that and get the acquittal and/or dismissal you need.

M.S. was someone who seemed to be facing that sort of difficult circumstance in his criminal case. After a late-night verbal dispute inside a restaurant, a drive-by shooting occurred in the parking lot outside the restaurant. According to the state, M.S. was the driver and Q.B. was the shooter. The shots hit no one.

The state charged M.S. and Q.B. with several counts of attempted murder, first-degree assault, and “use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or crime of violence.” The prosecution also pursued charges of conspiracy connected to each of those three crimes.