Simms v. State

On January 20, 1977, in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, the appellant, John William Simms, was convicted of common law rape and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. From his convictions, which yielded a sentence totaling twenty-five years imprisonment, appellant noted this belated appeal, 1 contending:

"I. The trial judge committed reversible error by conducting a critical stage of the proceedings in . . . [his] absence.

II. The evidence was insufficient to convict [him] of the crime of rape.

III. The trial judge committed plain error in instructing the jury that the…