Pursuing Justice After a Conviction
Challenging a Maryland Conviction After Trial or Guilty Plea
Post-conviction relief provides a way to challenge a Maryland criminal conviction after the ordinary trial and appellate process when the conviction or sentence is subject to collateral attack on constitutional or other recognized legal grounds. A post-conviction proceeding is not a second trial and is different from a direct appeal.
Post-conviction claims frequently involve allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel, including failures to investigate, advise a defendant properly, present available evidence, object to significant errors, litigate constitutional issues, or protect a defendant's rights during plea negotiations, trial, or sentencing.
The strength of a post-conviction claim depends on the complete record. Trial and sentencing transcripts, motions and rulings, plea proceedings, discovery, communications, prior appellate decisions, and other available evidence should be reviewed to determine what occurred and whether there is a legally cognizable basis for relief.
Maryland has specific procedural requirements and limitations governing post-conviction petitions. Determining the correct post-judgment remedy is also important because a post-conviction petition, direct appeal, motion to modify or reduce sentence, motion to correct an illegal sentence, and petition for writ of error coram nobis serve different purposes.
What Can be Challenged in a Maryland post-Conviction Case?
The Entire Record Matters
Post-conviction review should extend beyond the petition itself. Trial and sentencing transcripts, plea proceedings, motions, exhibits, discovery, prior appellate decisions, and other available records may reveal what occurred, what issues were preserved or waived, and whether a legally recognized basis for relief exists. We review the entire record including the charging documents, all available transcripts of pretrial hearings, discovery, voir dire, jury instructions, trial transcripts, plea hearing, and sentencing.
Clients seeking post-conviction relief in Maryland often need to understand the legal standards, timelines, and realistic outcomes, and these answers address the most important considerations.
Common Questions About Post-Conviction Relief
Ineffective assistance of counsel requires more than showing that an attorney made a mistake or that another lawyer might have handled the case differently. Generally, a post-conviction petitioner must establish both that counsel's performance fell below an objectively reasonable professional standard and that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense.
Prejudice generally requires showing a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Claims may involve failures to investigate, advise a defendant properly about a plea, present available evidence, pursue significant constitutional issues, object to prejudicial evidence, or otherwise protect the defendant's rights.
What qualifies as ineffective assistance of counsel?
Generally, a Maryland petition for post-conviction relief must be filed within 10 years after the sentence was imposed. A petition filed after that period may still be considered if the petitioner establishes extraordinary cause.
There are important exceptions. For example, the 10-year limitation does not apply to sentences imposed before October 1, 1995. Because post-conviction deadlines and available remedies can depend on when the sentence was imposed and the procedural history of the case, the timing should be evaluated individually.
How long do I have to file a post-conviction motion in Maryland?
The remedy depends on the error established. If a Maryland court grants post-conviction relief, it may set aside or correct the judgment or sentence, grant a new trial, or provide other appropriate relief.
A successful post-conviction petition therefore does not always produce the same result. The remedy depends on the constitutional or legal violation proven and how that violation affected the underlying conviction, plea, trial, or sentence
What can a Maryland Court do if post-conviction relief is granted?
Yes. Maryland law provides procedures for certain convicted individuals to seek post-conviction DNA testing and, when the results are favorable, potentially obtain further post-conviction review or a new trial.
New DNA evidence does not automatically overturn a conviction. The court considers the significance of the DNA results in relation to the evidence and circumstances of the original case. Newly discovered evidence may also provide a basis for a petition for writ of actual innocence when the applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
Can new DNA evidence lead to relief from a Maryland conviction?
Because a viable post-conviction claim may not be obvious from the judgment or docket entries. Determining whether counsel was ineffective often requires examining what happened before, during, and after the trial or plea—and sometimes why particular decisions were made.
A meaningful review may include transcripts, discovery, motions, exhibits, plea negotiations, sentencing proceedings, prior appeals, and evidence that was available but not presented. The record must also be examined for issues that were previously litigated or may have been waived.
Post-conviction review is therefore not simply a search for mistakes. The question is whether a legally recognized error occurred and whether that error affected the conviction or sentence.
Why does post-conviction relief require detailed case review?
Kathleen M. Kirchner, Attorney at Law-Kathleen M. Kirchner represents clients seeking post-conviction relief in Maryland. Post-conviction cases require careful examination of the underlying criminal proceeding, including the trial or plea, sentencing, prior motions and appeals, and the performance of prior counsel.
When a conviction may have been affected by ineffective assistance of counsel, a constitutional violation, or another legally recognized basis for post-conviction relief, Ms. Kirchner reviews the record to determine whether a viable claim exists and what remedy may be available under Maryland law.