Martinez v. State

Petitioner Eduardo Escobar Martinez was tried before a jury in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and convicted of involuntary manslaughter of one victim and attempted murder of another. During trial, the court prohibited Petitioner from cross-examining the surviving victim about his potential bias in connection with the State’s dismissal of unrelated charges filed against him and his incarceration status pursuant to a writ of body attachment to secure his presence at trial. The Court of Special Appeals held that it was not an abuse of the court’s discretion to prohibit such…