State v. Johnson

On April 25, 2012, a Baltimore City grand jury indicted appellee, Michael M. Johnson, for the murder of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes. Johnson was tried by a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and was acquitted of first-degree murder but convicted of second-degree murder. Subsequently, Johnson filed a motion for a new trial, which the circuit court granted on March 20, 2013, based on a finding of a Brady violation.1

The case was reset for a new jury trial, which commenced on December 2, 2014. During the presentation of the State’s case on Friday, December 19, 2014, Johnson moved for a…