Charles and Drake v. State

We are asked to consider whether Dwayne Drake and Jamal Charles, Petitioners, are entitled to a new trial, because the judge who presided over their joint trial propounded a question during voir dire asking whether the jury could not “convict” them without “scientific evidence.”

Drake and Charles were tried together before a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on charges stemming from the death of Bryant Jones and were convicted of second-degree murder and use of a handgun in a felony or crime of violence. Drake was also convicted of wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun. 1…