Weitzel v. State

In this case, we revisit the “tacit-admission” rule and the issue of the admissibility of pre-arrest silence in the presence of a law enforcement officer as substantive evidence of guilt. We shall hold that a defendant’s pre-arrest silence in police presence is inadmissable under Maryland evidence law as direct evidence of guilt.

*453I.

On March 17, 2002, police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from the Holabird East apartments in Baltimore County. They discovered Darla Effland lying unconscious and severely injured at the bottom of a public stairwell. The only other persons present were…