Smith v. State

Nathaniel Smith, Sr. shot an erstwhile friend in the head during an argument. A jury of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County convicted him of first degree assault and related crimes, including, and of interest to us for the purposes of this appeal, illegally possessing a firearm after a disqualifying conviction.

Mr. Smith raises two issues. First, he argues that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the convictions for illegal possession of a firearm because the prosecutor failed to present evidence of the disqualifying conviction to the jury during the State’s case-in-chief. We…