Murray v. State

599 A.2d 465, 89 Md. App. 626, 1991 Md. App. LEXIS 244
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedDecember 24, 1991
DocketNo. 1871
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 599 A.2d 465 (Murray v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murray v. State, 599 A.2d 465, 89 Md. App. 626, 1991 Md. App. LEXIS 244 (Md. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

GARRITY, Judge.

Bruce Emory Murray, the appellant, was convicted on September 19, 1990, by a jury in the Circuit Court for Talbot County (Horne, J., presiding) of distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He received a sentence of fifteen years incarceration for distribution of cocaine and a consecutive five year sentence on the conspiracy conviction, the latter being suspended with a five-year term of probation imposed.

The evidence at trial consisted essentially of the identification of appellant by State Trooper Ronald Crouch, as one of two men who, during the evening of January 5, 1990, passed him a “twenty” of cocaine (a twenty dollar pebble of crack cocaine) on Locust Street in Easton. Appellant complains that Trooper Crouch’s mug shot identification of him made three days after the drug transaction was unreliably [629]*629based on the name given by the informant/witness immediately after the illegal drug transaction.

We are asked to decide whether the trial court erred when it sustained the prosecution’s objection to appellant’s request of Trooper Crouch to reveal the informant’s name, whether there was sufficient evidence upon which to convict for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and whether the sentence was proper.

FACTS

According to Trooper Crouch, on January 5, 1990, at 10:20 p.m., he drove an unmarked vehicle to the illuminated intersection of Locust and South Streets in Easton in response to complaints of open air drug sales taking place in that area. He was accompanied by a confidential informant. An individual, later identified by the street name of “Tootie,” approached the vehicle on the driver’s side and asked the undercover trooper what he was looking for. At that time the trooper stated he was looking for a “twenty.” Tootie then said, “Well, let me get in.”

Trooper Crouch, driving with the confidential informant next to him and Tootie to the informant’s right, drove a short distance down Locust Street where Tootie summoned a person to the window. The man who approached was allegedly the appellant, Bruce Emory Murray. After a short conversation between Tootie and Murray, Murray handed Tootie a small plastic envelope containing crack cocaine. Tootie handed it to Trooper Couch who produced a twenty dollar bill. The trooper then handed the money to Tootie who gave it to Murray who was standing by the car door.

The trooper, who made a positive in-court identification of the appellant without objection, testified that Murray had stood four or five feet from the open car window for three or four minutes. At one point, Murray bent down and put his face inside the side window as Murray conversed with [630]*630Tootie, thus providing Trooper Crouch with “a very good look” at him.

After Murray completed the transaction, the trio drove a short distance and stopped to allow Tootie to exit. Shortly thereafter, the confidential informant disclosed the names of the principals to Trooper Crouch. The officer testified that, upon reviewing Murray’s police files, he immediately recognized him as the person who had sold him the cocaine.

The appellant testified that he could not recall what he had been doing on the night that the drug transaction had taken place or recall an incident similar to that to which Trooper Crouch had testified. He advised the jury, however, that because he was addicted to cocaine, it would have been “impossible” for him to have sold it to another.

DISCUSSION OF LAW

I. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT

The only mention or discussion concerning the identity of the confidential informant took place during the cross-examination of Trooper Crouch. The transcript of record reflects:

Q. [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: And there were — when you pulled up, there were two passengers in that vehicle, yourself driving and a confidential informant; is that correct?
A. That’s right.
Q. And that confidential informant’s identity is what?
PROSECUTOR: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q. And then you allege Mr. Wilson [“Tootie”] got into the front seat of the vehicle; is that correct?
A. That’s right.

The rationale and thrust of Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, 77 S.Ct. 623, 1 L.Ed.2d 639 (1957), is that where disclosure of an informer’s identity is essential to a fair determination of a cause, and thus the right of an individ[631]*631ual to prepare a defense, the privilege of nondisclosure must give way. As observed by the Court, “[w]hether a proper balance renders nondisclosure erroneous must depend on the particular circumstances of each case, taking into consideration the crime charged, the possible defenses, the possible significance of the informer’s testimony, and other relevant factors.” Roviaro, 358 U.S. at 62, 77 S.Ct. at 629, 1 L.Ed.2d at 646.

In Brooks v. State, 320 Md. 516, 578 A.2d 783 (1990), when it was disclosed at a pretrial hearing on a motion to compel disclosure that an informant had participated in the transaction by initiating discussion about purchasing narcotics, the Court rejected the trial court’s characterization of the informant as a mere “tipster” and remanded the matter to allow a test of the disclosure motion under Roviaro. As observed by Chief Judge Murphy in Brooks:

We noted that “[t]he cases universally recognize the exception to the nondisclosure privilege where the informer was a participant, accessory or witness to the crime.” Gulick v. State, 252 Md. 348, 354 [249 A.2d 702] (1969). Judge Orth, in Nutter v. State, 8 Md.App. 635 [262 A.2d 80] (1970), clarified the disclosure requirement in regard to an informer who witnesses the unlawful transaction:
“ ‘[Witness’ as used in Gulick means a material witness, in the sense that his testimony is important to a fair determination of the cause. It is then that his identity becomes necessary and relevant to a fair defense. Thus in this context ‘material’ may be said to have a meaning more restrictive than its usual meaning. So, although an eyewitness to a crime is clearly a ‘material’ witness as that word is ordinarily used, if he is an informer, simply observing an illegal transaction but not participating in it, the fact that he observes the transaction does not necessarily make his possible testimony so important as to compel disclosure of his identity in the face of the rationale of the nondisclosure privilege.” (Emphasis in original).
[632]*632The decision to compel disclosure of an informer is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Gulick, 252 Md. at 354 [249 A.2d 702].

Id., 320 Md. at 524-25, 578 A.2d 783.

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Bluebook (online)
599 A.2d 465, 89 Md. App. 626, 1991 Md. App. LEXIS 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murray-v-state-mdctspecapp-1991.