The following definitions apply in this Title:
(a) Charging Document. “Charging document means a written accusation alleging that a defendant has committed an offense. It includes a citation, an indictment, an information, and a statement of charges.
(b) Citation. “Citation means a charging document, other than an indictment, information, or statement of charges, issued to a defendant by a peace officer.
(c) Defendant. “Defendant means a person who has been arrested for an offense or charged with an offense in a charging document.
(d) Indictment. “Indictment means a charging document returned by a grand jury and filed in a circuit court.
(e) Information. “Information means a charging document filed in a court by a State’s Attorney.
(f) Judicial Officer. “Judicial Officer means a judge or District Court commissioner.
(g) Offense. “Offense means a violation of the criminal laws of this State or political subdivision thereof.
(h) Peace Officer. “Peace officer means (1) a “law enforcement officer as defined in Code, Public Safety Article, § 3-101(e), (2) a “police officer as defined in Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 2-101(c), and (3) any other person authorized by State or local law to issue citations.
(i) Petty Offense. “Petty offense means an offense for which the penalty may not exceed imprisonment for a period of three months or a fine of five hundred dollars.
(j) Preliminary Inquiry. “Preliminary inquiry means a pretrial proceeding conducted by a judicial officer when a defendant, who has been served with a citation or summons, appears as directed before the judicial officer for advise of rights in accordance with Rules 4-213 and 4-215.
(k) Statement of Charges. “Statement of charges means a charging document, other than a citation, filed in District Court by a peace officer or by a judicial officer.
(l) State’s Attorney. “State’s Attorney means a person authorized to prosecute an offense.
Committee note: The definition of “State’s Attorney in Rule 4-102(l) includes the elected or appointed State’s Attorney for a county, the State Prosecutor, the Attorney General when conducting a criminal investigation or prosecution pursuant to Article V, § 3 of the Maryland Constitution or other law, and assistants in those offices authorized to conduct a criminal prosecution. See State v. Romulus, 315 Md. 526 (1989).
(m) Verdict. “Verdict means the finding of the jury or the decision of the court pertaining to the merits of the offense charged.
Source: This Rule is derived as follows:
Section (a) is derived from former Rule 702 a and M.D.R. 702 a.
Section (b) is derived from former M.D.R. 702 c.
Section (c) is derived from former Rule 702 b and M.D.R. 702 d.
Section (d) is derived from former Rule 702 c.
Section (e) is derived from former Rule 702 d and M.D.R. 702 e.
Section (f) is derived from former M.D.R. 702 f.
Section (g) is derived from former Rule 702 e and M.D.R. 702 g.
Section (h) is new.
Section (i) is derived from former M.D.R. 702 h.
Section (j) is new.
Section (k) is derived from former M.D.R. 702 i.
Section (l) is derived from former Rule 702 f and M.D.R. 702 j.
Section (m) is derived from former Rule 702 g and M.D.R. 702 l.
Adopted April 6, 1984, eff. July 1, 1984. Amended Nov. 12, 2003, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; Nov. 21, 2013, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Oct. 10, 2018, eff. Jan. 1, 2019.
HISTORICAL NOTES
2003 Orders
The November 12, 2003, order, in section (b), deleted “or other person authorized by law to do so following “peace officer; inserted section (h), related to peace officers; redesignated former sections (h) through (l) as sections (i) through (m), respectively; and amended the source note.
2013 Orders
The November 21, 2013, order, added section (j) pertaining to a preliminary inquiry; added a Committee note after section (l); and made stylistic changes.
2018 Orders
The October 10, 2018 order deleted section (n).
