Howard v. State

Delonte Teshawn Howard v. State of Maryland No. 0338, Sept. Term. 2023 Opinion by Leahy, J. Criminal Law > Evidence > Burden of Proof > Matters excepted in statute defining offense When a statutory exception is an essential ingredient of a crime because the “exception is descriptive of the offense or so incorporated” into the offense, the State bears the burden to “negate the exception[.]” Mackall v. State,

283 Md. 100, 110

(1978). The exception for Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR rifles in Maryland Code (2003, 2022 Repl. Vol.), Public Safety Article (“PS”), section 5-101(r)(2)(xv), “is descriptive of…