Boulden v. State

HARRELL, Judge.

We consider here whether a defendant in a criminal case may waive effectively his or her right to a trial by jury after the commencement of the trial, in this case, at the close of the State’s case-in-chief. Petitioner, Sheila Boulden, was charged in the Circuit Court for Cecil County with Second Degree Child Abuse and Second Degree Assault. A court trial, at which Boulden was represented by counsel, commenced on 5 July 2006. The State rested at the end of the day’s proceedings. The next morning, the prosecutor observed to the trial court that Petitioner’s waiver of her right…