State v. Crutchfield

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

This case involves the sua sponte declaration of a mistrial by a trial judge in a criminal case and whether, in the circumstances, retrial of the defendant would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, now applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment under Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 89 S.Ct. 2056, 23 L.Ed.2d 707 (1969). 1

I

On January 17, 1987, the Maryland State Police responded to a call regarding a shooting at a home in Mt. Airy, Maryland. Trooper Douglas Wehland, the first to arrive at the scene,…