Wallach v. Board of Education

637 A.2d 859, 99 Md. App. 386, 1994 Md. App. LEXIS 38
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedFebruary 28, 1994
Docket519, September Term, 1993
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 637 A.2d 859 (Wallach v. Board of Education) 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
Wallach v. Board of Education, 637 A.2d 859, 99 Md. App. 386, 1994 Md. App. LEXIS 38 (Md. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

FISCHER, Judge.

While operating a motorcycle, appellant, Richard Wallach, was injured in a collision with a bus owned by the Board of Education of Prince George’s County (the “Board”). Wallach sued the Board in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County for his injuries suffered as a result of the accident. Appealing from a jury’s verdict in favor of the Board, he raises the following issues:

1. Whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence Wallach’s prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana for the purpose of impeachment.
[388]*3882. Whether the trial court erred by allowing an accident reconstruction expert to render an opinion regarding the maximum distance that the motorcycle was capable of traveling in a specified period of time.

Because we hold that the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of the prior conviction, we reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial. Although this issue is dispositive of the case, the ruling complained of in the second issue may recur on retrial; therefore, we address it in this opinion.

FACTS

On November 23, 1987, Linda Marie Richardson (“Richardson”), a bus driver employed by the Board, was operating a school bus eastbound on Lanham-Severn Road in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Wallach, driving a motorcycle, entered Lanham-Severn Road from a shopping center and headed westbound. The school bus approached the intersection of Lanham-Severn Road and 94th Avenue in order to make a left turn at the same time that Wallach approached the intersection on his motorcycle. As Wallach neared the intersection, the school bus began its turn, causing Wallach to swerve. Wallach collided with the rear of the bus and was knocked unconscious, sustaining serious injuries.

Wallach sued the Board and Richardson, alleging negligence against Richardson and seeking to hold the Board vicariously liable. The Board answered the complaint and filed a counterclaim charging Wallach with negligence. After the parties stipulated that Richardson was operating within the scope of her employment at all times, Wallach agreed to dismiss the claim against Richardson. After a full trial, the jury exonerated the Board and found Wallach negligent.

I. IMPEACHMENT

Wallach contends that the trial court erred by admitting his prior conviction of conspiracy to distribute marijuana for the purposes of impeachment. Before trial, Wallach filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude the conviction from [389]*389evidence. The trial court denied the motion. After the trial court overruled Wallach’s objection during cross-examination, the Board questioned Wallach about the conviction.

Wallach argues that the crime of conspiracy to distribute marijuana is too broad to be relevant to the credibility of the witness. In addition, he posits that, even if a conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana is admissible for impeachment purposes, in this case the prejudicial impact outweighed the probative value of admitting the conviction.

Whether a prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana may be admitted to impeach a witness is an issue of first impression in Maryland. Rule l-502(a) provides:

For the purpose of attacking the credibility of a witness, evidence that the witness has been convicted of a crime shall be admitted if elicited from the witness or established by public record during cross-examination, but only if the crime was an infamous crime or other crime relevant to the witness’s credibility and the court determines that the probative value of admitting this evidence outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice to the witness or the objecting party.

In Beales v. State, 329 Md. 263, 619 A.2d 105 (1993), the Court of Appeals explained that the balancing test of Md. Rule 1-502(a) must be applied to infamous crimes and other crimes bearing on credibility. Beales, 329 Md. at 271, 619 A.2d 105. The crimes the common law considered infamous were treason, felony, perjury, forgery and those other offenses classified as crimen falsi, or misdemeanors involving dishonesty. Prout v. State, 311 Md. 348, 360, 535 A.2d 445 (1988).

Whether a particular crime may be used for the purposes of impeachment was addressed by this Court in Carter v. State, 80 Md.App. 686, 566 A.2d 131 (1989) and Giddens v. State, 97 Md.App. 582, 631 A.2d 499 (1993). Carter was decided under the common law prior to the adoption of Md.Rule l-502(a). In Carter, we held that the admission, for impeachment purposes, of defendant’s prior conviction for drug manufacturing was not an abuse of discretion. Carter was convicted of second degree murder, robbery with a dangerous and deadly [390]*390weapon, battery, carrying a weapon with the intent to injure, and theft. Carter contended that the trial judge erred by admitting, for impeachment purposes, evidence of Carter’s conviction for manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance. Carter, 80 Md.App. at 692, 566 A.2d 131. Holding that Carter’s conviction for manufacturing drugs was relevant to his credibility, we recognized that “[t]his particular crime necessarily requires several steps involving premeditation and conscious violation of the law” and is, therefore, relevant to the witness’s veracity. Carter, 80 Md.App. at 693, 566 A.2d 131.

We believe that drug manufacturing, on the other hand, is relevant to the issue of appellant’s propensity to tell the truth. A person who has committed crimes that posed grave danger to the fabric of society, that only could have been carried on furtively, and that required him to take great pains to conceal his conduct, would probably not be adverse to concealing the truth if it is to his advantage to do so.

Carter, 80 Md.App. at 694, 566 A.2d 131.

In Giddens v. State, 97 Md.App. 582, 631 A.2d 499 (1993), cert. granted, 333 Md. 429, 635 A.2d 976 (1994), we held that the distribution of a controlled dangerous substance is not a crime relevant to credibility and may not be used for impeachment purposes. After being convicted for assault, Giddens appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by allowing the State to impeach his testimony with a prior conviction for distribution of cocaine under Md.Code (1957, 1992 Repl.Vol.), Art. 27 § 286(a). We concluded that

a person can violate § 286 by selling a ton of cocaine to sub-dealers throughout the community as well as by giving a friend a marijuana cigarette.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re GARY T.
112 A.3d 1108 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2015)
Kleban v. Eghrari-Sabet
920 A.2d 606 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2007)
Fulp v. State
745 A.2d 438 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2000)
Acquah v. State
686 A.2d 690 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1996)
State v. Giddens
642 A.2d 870 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1994)
Wallach v. Board of Education
637 A.2d 859 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
637 A.2d 859, 99 Md. App. 386, 1994 Md. App. LEXIS 38, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallach-v-board-of-education-mdctspecapp-1994.