Appeal From District Court To Circuit Court

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

IV. Appeal from District Court to Circuit Court

A. Securing appellate review

In criminal cases, appeals from District Court to Circuit Court are always tried de novo. Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 12-401(f). Thus, the appeal is always in the form of a new trial and is never heard on the record. Id. To obtain appellate review in the Circuit Court, the defendant must file a notice of appeal and the filing fee (waived with an affidavit of indigency) with the clerk of the District Court within 30 days after sentencing. Id. § 12-401(e); Md. Rules 1-325 and 7-104. See also State v. Armstrong, 60 Md. App. 244, 252 (1984).

Filing a motion for a new trial does not change the 30-day deadline for filing the notice of appeal. Kirsner v. State, 296 Md. 567, 570-72 (1983). The District Court has the power to rule pre-trial issues, such as the constitutionality of a search or seizure, a confession, the right to counsel, confrontation, compulsory process, and any other constitutional trial right. White v. State, 89 Md. App. 590, 595-96 (1991). A District Court ruling on such issues is not immediately appealable to the Circuit Court, but upon conviction, any such issues can be reviewed in the defendant's de novo appeal in the Circuit Court. Id.

B. Entry of appearance of counsel

Even if counsel in the Circuit Court is the same person who was counsel in the District Court, counsel must enter his or her appearance in the Circuit Court because the entry of appearance is not transferred from the District Court. Md. Rule...