Williams v. State

CHARLES E. ORTH, Jr., Judge,

Specially Assigned.

I

When the judge had given her instructions to the jury at the conclusion of all of the evidence in the first degree murder trial of Willard H. Williams in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, there was a bench conference marked by the following colloquy between the judge and defense counsel:

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I have several exceptions, Your Honor. Perhaps I missed it, although I was trying to listen carefully and take down notes. I know that you did give the jury an instruction on the burden of proof and the beyond a reasonable doubt. I don’t…