Smallwood v. State

661 A.2d 747, 106 Md. App. 1, 1995 Md. App. LEXIS 134
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedJuly 13, 1995
DocketNo. 1678
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 661 A.2d 747 (Smallwood 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
Smallwood v. State, 661 A.2d 747, 106 Md. App. 1, 1995 Md. App. LEXIS 134 (Md. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

BISHOP, Judge.

The State filed a twenty-three count indictment in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County against appellant, Dwight Ralph Smallwood. Appellant pleaded guilty to charges of attempted first degree rape and robbery with a deadly weapon. Based on an agreed statement of facts, the [3]*3trial court tried appellant on charges of assault with intent to murder, attempted second degree murder, and reckless endangerment. After convicting appellant on those charges, the trial court imposed concurrent sentences of life imprisonment for attempted first degree rape, twenty years for robbery with a deadly weapon, thirty years for assault with intent to murder, thirty years for attempted second degree murder, and five years for reckless endangerment. Appellant was also charged with and convicted of rape and robbery with a deadly weapon in two other cases, neither of which are the subject of this appeal.

Issue

Appellant raises the following issue: Whether the evidence and the court’s factual findings sufficiently support appellant’s convictions of assault with intent to murder and attempted second degree murder.

Statement of Facts

The agreed-upon statement of facts related by the State to the trial court reveals that, in July of 1991, appellant was incarcerated at the Prince George’s County Detention Center, where he voluntarily agreed to be tested for the presence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”). On August 29, 1991, appellant was diagnosed as being infected with HIV, the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (“AIDS”). According to the medical records of the Prince George’s County Detention Center, appellant knew that he was infected with HIV as early as September 25, 1991. Appellant told Dr. Ivan W. Laurich, a psychiatrist at the detention center, that he would not have sexual relations without informing his partners of his “HIV positive” status.

According to the State, in February of 1992, Marianne Liburdi, a licensed social worker, informed appellant of the necessity to practice “safe sex” in order to avoid transmitting his disease to his sexual partners. In July of 1993, appellant underwent HIV-related medical treatment at Children’s Hospital, where he stated to medical personnel that he had one [4]*4sexual partner and that he always used condoms during sex. Appellant was retested for HIV in February and March of 1994; in both instances, appellant tested positive for HIV.

On September 28, 1993, appellant and an accomplice approached a woman exiting her car, ordered her, at gunpoint, to drive them to an automated teller machine, and forced her to withdraw $300. Although appellant was informed of the necessary precautions to avoid transmitting HIV to his sexual partners, appellant attempted to rape the woman after robbing her. According to the agreed-upon statement of facts, appellant “inserted his penis into [the woman’s] vagina, causing slight penetration [and] did not use a condom during the act.” Appellant threatened to shoot the woman if she reported the incident.

At the conclusion of the State’s statement of facts, appellant declined to present evidence and moved for judgment of acquittal on the charges of assault with intent to murder, attempted second degree murder, and reckless endangerment. The trial court denied appellant’s motion and stated that, before going any further, it was necessary for the court “to make a clear record for all concerned.” Essentially, the trial court adopted the agreed-upon statement of facts as its factual findings and concluded that appellant was guilty of attempted second degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and reckless endangerment.

Discussion

Appellant seeks reversal of his convictions for assault with intent to murder and attempted second degree murder, arguing that one cannot be convicted of those crimes simply because one knowingly engages in sexual behavior that places his partner at risk of being infected with HIV. According to appellant, the evidence adduced was insufficient to support the trial court’s verdict.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction, the standard to be applied is “whether the record evidence could reasonably support a finding of [5]*5guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” The appropriate inquiry then is not whether we believe that the evidence at trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; “[i]nstead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Moreover, when evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence in a non-jury trial, the judgment of the trial court will not be set aside on the evidence unless clearly erroneous, giving due regard to the trial court’s opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses.

State v. Raines, 326 Md. 582, 588-89, 606 A.2d 265 (1992) (citations omitted). Within that standard of review, we turn to the issues presented in the case sub judice.

I.

Regarding appellant’s conviction for attempted second degree murder, the trial court ruled:

I think it is clear from the record that [appellant] knew that he had the HIV virus, that he was counseled by various doctors and medical personnel as to that fact, as to how it is transmitted, and that [appellant] stated on several occasions he would only engage in “safe sex.” [Appellant] knew that, at least all of that, before he raped the victims. And he even admitted to staff at Children’s Hospital as to having sex but was using a condom every time.
$ $ ^
It is my belief and finding that, based on [appellant’s] knowledge of his disease, his counseling with regards to that, that I can infer malicious intent, that is an intent to commit murder, and we so find, would so find.
I believe his requisite intent to kill can be found from inferring from [appellant’s] knowledge as to his HIV positive status, his knowledge of the transmission of the disease. I believe that he also had sufficient time to consider the consequences of his act.
[6]*6Accordingly, Madam Clerk, the Court would find him guilty ... Count I [attempted second degree murder].

“The crime of attempt consists of a specific intent to commit a particular offense coupled with some overt act in furtherance of the intent that goes beyond mere preparation.” State v. Earp, 319 Md. 156, 162, 571 A.2d 1227 (1990). “[T]he required specific intent in the crime of attempted murder is a specific intent to murder.” Id. at 163, 571 A.2d 1227. The Court of Appeals of Maryland defines “specific intent to murder” as “the specific intent to kill under circumstances that would not legally justify or excuse the killing or mitigate it to manslaughter.” Id. at 167, 571 A.2d 1227. The trier of fact may infer the existence of the requisite intent to kill from the surrounding circumstances. For example, in State v. Jenkins, 307 Md. 501, 514,

Related

Smallwood v. State
680 A.2d 512 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
661 A.2d 747, 106 Md. App. 1, 1995 Md. App. LEXIS 134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smallwood-v-state-mdctspecapp-1995.