Content of the Charging Document—Maryland Rule 4-202

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

II. Content of the Charging Document—Maryland Rule 4-202

A. Generally—Maryland Rule 4-202(a)

The charging document shall contain:

1. The name of the defendant;

2. A concise and definite statement of the essential facts of the offense and the time and place the offense occurred. In other words, the charging document should contain:

• a characterization of the crime, or

• such description of the particular act alleged to have been committed by the accused as will enable him or her to defend properly against the accusations. State v. Canova, 278 Md. 483, 498, 365 A.2d 988, 997 (1976) ("A criminal charge must so characterize the crime and describe the particular offense so as to give the accused notice of what he is called upon to defendant and to prevent a future prosecution for the same offense."); see also Ayre v. State, 291 Md. 155, 433 A.2d 1150 (1981); State v. Lassotovitch, 162 Md. 147, 159 A. 362 (1932). But, while the charging document must allege the essential elements of the offense charged, the Court of Appeals has recognized that it need not expressly aver all essential elements of the crime in that some elements may be implied. Jones (Dana) v. State, 303 Md. 323, 337, 493 A.2d 1062, 1069 (1985); see also Shiflett v. State, 229 Md. App. 645, 686, 146 A.3d 504, 528 (2016), cert. denied, 452 Md. 545, 157 A.3d 820 (2017).

3. A statement of the time and place of the offense charged with reasonable particularity, although the exact date and

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