Maryland Criminal & Immigration Lawyer Blog

How a Search of Your Social Media Accounts Can Become a Fourth Amendment Violation

August 11, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Some things that are ubiquitous parts of our lives today probably would’ve seemed unimaginable 40, 30, or even 20 years ago. That includes developments like smartphones and social media. As technology evolves, so do the methods law enforcement officers use to pursue criminal suspects. Just as with anything else, though, a search of a social media account has the potential to represent a violation of the accused’s Fourth Amendment rights if it wasn’t backed by a valid search warrant. When it comes to getting illegally obtained evidence suppressed (whether that evidence was housed in something as old-fashioned as a bedroom closet or as modern as a TikTok account,) having representation from an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer often can enhance your chances of success.

Many times, this blog covers criminal issues arising from the Maryland courts. Today, we look at a federal criminal case for its insight into police searches of social media accounts.

According to federal prosecutors, T.R. was a member of the Cruddy Conniving Crutballs (a/k/a “Triple C,”) a Baltimore street gang. In the spring of 2021, federal prosecutors charged T.R. and 14 alleged Triple C members with various racketeering, conspiracy, drug, and gun crimes.

What the ‘Statement Against Interest’ Hearsay Exception Does — and Doesn’t — Allow in a Maryland Criminal Trial

July 27, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

The rules of evidence say that a party may not use hearsay to prove their case (or disprove the other side’s case,) unless that hearsay evidence falls within one or more of several exceptions laid out in the rules. Parsing these exceptions — and keeping potentially harmful
evidence that falls outside these exceptions out of your trial — is a place where having an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer can be vital. Because any criminal trial can come down to what the jury hears — and what they don’t — winning these battles is crucial.

One of those exceptions is something called a “statement against interest.” Maryland Rule 5-804(b)(3) says that hearsay may be admissible if it “so tended to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, . . . that a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would not have made the statement unless the person believed it to be true.”

That exception was at the center of a recent drug case from Salisbury. In that case, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office raided a home in the early morning hours and recovered 69 bags of suspected crack cocaine, 98 suspected bags of heroin, 17 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition, a digital scale, and six cell phones.

A Federal Appeals Court Grants Asylum to a Pakistani Businessman Who Aided the U.S.-Led Coalition During the Afghan War

July 10, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

The United States military action in Afghanistan began in the weeks following the September 11th attacks and spanned for nearly two decades. During that time, many citizens of that country (and surrounding states like Pakistan) aided coalition forces’ efforts. When U.S. forces left and the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, the changes placed those allies in grave danger. As a result, many of them may now qualify for asylum in the U.S. However, like with any asylum application, the process can be complicated and difficult, making the services of an experienced Maryland asylum lawyer especially important.

One such ally (and eventual asylum applicant) was S.U., a Pakistani businessman who sold supplies to coalition forces. After the Taliban regained the reigns of power in 2021, they threatened to kill him if he did not pay them exorbitant sums of money. The businessman refused and, as a result, lost “his business, home, and nearly his life.” Fearing imminent death, he fled to the United States.

His asylum case is an example of how challenging the process can be. Despite his evidence of past persecution from the Taliban, immigration authorities concluded that the man didn’t qualify for asylum. The evidence showed that the man lived in a rural part of northwestern Pakistan situated on the Afghan border, that his business sold vehicles and tires to coalition forces during the war and, as a result, the Taliban threatened to kill him unless he paid the equivalent of nearly 1 million (USD).

The Maryland Supreme Court Just Put Some Important New Limits on Ballistics Expert Evidence in Criminal Trials

June 23, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Earlier this week, Maryland’s highest court issued a new opinion that made national headlines. The decision imposes necessary new standards on how prosecutors in this state can (and cannot) use ballistics experts. This ruling potentially represents a major aid for people in Maryland who stand accused of crimes involving guns. Whether or not your case involves firearms, a skilled Maryland criminal defense lawyer with fully up-to-date knowledge can be crucial to getting the best possible outcome.

The origin of the case was a murder in Riverdale. Police found the victim dead, having suffered five gunshot wounds, including one to the back of the head. A few days earlier, the police had responded to a disturbance at the same property. The police testified that the accused appeared to be “agitated” and “very aggressive,” and that the other man seemed “terrified.”

After the shooting, the police seized both of the guns belonging to the victim’s roommate — a Glock and a .38 Special. At the roommate’s murder trial, an examiner with the police department’s Firearms Examination Unit testified that, based on markings found on the bullets recovered from the crime scene, the bullets came from the exact .38 that the accused owned.

The Immigration Waiver Process and the Proper Timing of a Waiver Application

June 9, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

One of the greatest risks undocumented immigrants face is potential deportation or being barred from re-entry. For some of those people, help may be available in the form of an I-601a waiver, a/k/a a provisional waiver. To be eligible, you must be a relative of a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Of course, there’s much more to it than that, and going about seeking a provisional waiver the wrong way can have extreme consequences, which is why, when you’re ready to apply for an I-601a waiver, it is vitally important to obtain the services of a skillful Maryland inadmissibility waiver lawyer.

A waiver case from just a few hours to our north is a very clear example of just how harsh the price of making a wrong procedural step can be.

As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the immigrant was a Mexican national whose parents brought her to this country when she was four years old. 26 years later, the woman, by then married to a Pennsylvania man and the mother of five American children, traveled to Mexico. Her plan was to enter Mexico, apply for a visa, then re-enter the U.S. legally.

Asylum Applications by Immigrants Facing Persecution at Home Because They’re Perceived to Be Gay or Lesbian

May 26, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

LGBTQ+ people face many serious challenges. LGBTQ+ people in countries outside the U.S. often face especially dire risks, as being “outed” (or even just failing to conform to traditional gender norms) may place a person at risk of beatings, whippings, or even violent death. For those folks — both those who are LGBTQ+ or even those who are perceived to be — asylum may be a viable option. Achieving a favorable result in your asylum application is often an intricate and complicated process and one where it’s well worth your while to have an experienced Maryland asylum lawyer on your side.

In discrimination law, there exists something called “perceptive discrimination.” This refers to discrimination against workers (or job candidates) because they are perceived to be a member of a protected class. Discrimination because someone is an actual member of a protected group is illegal, but discrimination imposed because the employer believed the worker/applicant was a member of a protected class is just as illegal, even if the target, in fact, wasn’t a member of that group.

One place where perceptive discrimination comes up with some frequency is sexual orientation discrimination. The law recognizes that workers may not be punished because they’re gay — or because a decision-maker thought they were gay. Both situations are wrong, regardless of the target’s actual orientation.

The Appeals Court of Maryland Criticizes Both Prosecutors and Defense Counsel in an Assault Case Involving a Woman Having a ‘Mental Health Crisis’

May 11, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Often, this blog focuses on some sort of success for an accused person, like getting crucial evidence suppressed because the search that yielded it was unconstitutional. Sometimes, though, matters that end with unsuccessful – and even unjust – outcomes deliver the most important lessons, like one recent assault case from Cecil County that highlights how important it is not just to have a defense attorney, but rather the right Maryland criminal defense lawyer.

The accused, A.R., was an Elkton-area woman with serious PTSD. After experiencing a startling event that triggered her PTSD, she armed herself with a gun and a knife and entered a nearby roadway on foot.

Law enforcement responded to the scene, swiftly deescalated the situation, and subsequently arrested the woman. At the station, the woman continued behaving erratically, including removing all her clothes, so the officers decided to transport her to a hospital. The woman, who was in the midst of a “mental health crisis” at all relevant times, fought with the officers both in the roadway and during her transfer to the hospital. She also kicked a sheriff’s vehicle.

How to (and How Not to) Seek to Speed Up Adjudication of Your Hardship Waiver Application

April 24, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

When you’re seeking to engage with the immigration process, one thing you likely desire is to obtain a resolution as quickly as possible. Part of doing that means utilizing processes that can deliver results and avoiding traveling avenues that are inherently dead-ends. An experienced Maryland hardship waiver lawyer can help you not only to navigate the process but to do so as expeditiously and efficiently as possible.

The story of H.L. is an example of “what not to do.” The woman filed Form I-601A (Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver) in December 2020 and, as of May 2022, still had not received an adjudication from the Department of Homeland Security.

Based on those facts, the woman, who proceeded without a lawyer, filed a federal lawsuit here in Maryland in which she asked the judge to order the government to “adjudicate her… application in a timely manner.” The case was essentially doomed from the start.

What Can You Do When the Police Accidentally Destroy Evidence that’s a Part of Your Maryland Criminal Case?

April 7, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

When the police destroy evidence that was relevant to your case, that’s potentially a huge problem, as you’ll never know if that proof could have strengthened your case. When that happens — whether the destruction was accidental or intentional — there are steps you can take. When it comes to this and other procedural matters, having an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer on your side can help you maximize the protection of your rights.

Missing evidence was key to one Montgomery County man’s recent criminal case and a reversal of his conviction.

21-year-old E.M. was on trial for the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. In the case’s initial stages, a Montgomery County detective interviewed the girl and her parents. The police department recorded the interviews but later deleted them after the detective made a computer keystroke error that resulted in the failure to preserve the recordings in “indefinite storage.”

The Federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Revives a Ghanaian Man’s Application for Naturalization

March 30, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Obtaining citizenship is an important goal for many immigrants. If you’re seeking to do that, be advised that there are many hoops you must jump through and hurdles you must clear. It can be challenging to understand all of the requirements the law imposes upon you. Retaining a knowledgeable Maryland immigration and citizenship lawyer can help you ensure that your application satisfies all the necessary legal and procedural demands.

As noted above, the citizenship process can be complicated and any of a number of things may potentially represent a stumbling block. For one citizenship applicant, the stumbling block he had to go all the way to the federal Court of Appeals to clear was a divorce case in which he wasn’t even a party.

B.B. was a Ghanaian woman who married K.K.G. in Ghana in 1996. The husband secured a diversity visa and the couple moved to Virginia in June 1999. In late 1999, the marriage broke down and the heads of each of their households performed a “ceremonial divorce” in “accordance with Ghanaian customary law” on Jan. 6, 2000. In 2001, a Ghanaian court entered a judgment affirming the validity of the couple’s divorce.