Smith v. State

Everett Smith v. State of Maryland, No. 1273, Sept. Term 2020. Opinion filed on October 27, 2021, by Berger, J. INHERENT PREJUDICE - RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL - “THIN BLUE LINE” FLAG FACE MASK The appellant was not deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial when the trial court permitted a uniformed law enforcement officer serving as a courtroom bailiff to wear a “thin blue line” flag face mask in the courtroom. The “thin blue line” flag symbol does not have one generally accepted meaning and is interpreted to mean a wide variety of things. Because a wide range of inferences could be…