RULE 4-202. CHARGING DOCUMENT--CONTENT
West's Annotated Code of MarylandMaryland Rules
MD Rules, Rule 4-202
RULE 4-202. CHARGING DOCUMENT--CONTENT
(a) General Requirements. A charging document shall contain the name of the defendant or any name or description by which the defendant can be identified with reasonable certainty, except that the defendant need not be named or described in a citation for a parking violation. It shall contain a concise and definite statement of the essential facts of the offense with which the defendant is charged and, with reasonable particularity, the time and place the offense occurred. An allegation made in one count may be incorporated by reference in another count. The statute or other authority for each count shall be cited at the end of the count, but error in or omission of the citation of authority is not grounds for dismissal of the charging document or for reversal of a conviction.
A charging document also shall contain a notice to the defendant in the following form:
TO THE PERSON CHARGED:
3. If you have been served with a citation or summons directing you to appear before a judicial officer for a preliminary inquiry at a date and time designated or within five days of service if no time is designated, a judicial officer will advise you of your rights, the charges against you, and penalties. The preliminary inquiry will be cancelled if a lawyer has entered an appearance to represent you.
7. If you are eligible, the Public Defender or a court-appointed attorney will represent you at any initial appearance before a judicial officer and at any proceeding under Rule 4-216.2 to review an order of a District Court commissioner regarding pretrial release. If you want a lawyer for any further proceeding, including trial, but do not have the money to hire one, the Public Defender may provide a lawyer for you. To apply for Public Defender representation, contact a District Court commissioner.
Cross reference: See Rule 4-102(h) for definition of “peace officer.”
(C) If an indictment or criminal information is not signed personally by the elected or appointed State's Attorney for the county but is properly signed by another individual authorized to sign the document, the typed name of the elected or appointed State's Attorney may also appear on the document.
(d) Matters Not Required. A charging document need not negate an exception, excuse, or proviso contained in a statute or other authority creating or defining the offense charged. It is not necessary to use the word “feloniously” or “unlawfully” to charge a felony or misdemeanor in a charging document. In describing money in a charging document, it is sufficient to refer to the amount in current money, without specifying the particular notes, denominations, coins, or certificates circulating as money of which the amount is composed.
Source: This Rule is derived as follows:
Section (a) is derived from former M.D.R. 711 a and Rule 711 a.
Section (b) is derived from former M.D.R. 711 b 2 and Rule 711 c.
Section (c) is derived from former M.D.R. 711 b 1 and Rule 711 b.
Section (d) is derived from former Rule 711 d and e and M.D.R. 711 c and d.
Credits
[Adopted April 6, 1984, eff. July 1, 1984. Amended Nov. 21, 2013, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; May 27, 2014, eff. July 1, 2014; Dec. 13, 2016, eff. Apr. 1, 2017; Oct. 10, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.]
MD Rules, Rule 4-202, MD R CR Rule 4-202
Current with amendments received through February 1, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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