Durkin v. State

We granted certiorari in this criminal case to consider the requirement of Maryland Code (1974), § 9-115 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, that for a character witness to give evidence based on personal opinion, he must have an “adequate basis for forming an opinion as to another person’s character....”

The petitioner, George Dino Durkin, was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County (Mitchell, J., presiding) of using a handgun in the commission of a felony and unlawfully transporting a handgun in a motor vehicle, in violation of Code (1957, 1976 Repl. Vol.),…