A man who represented himself and was convicted in September of murdering his girlfriend lost a bid for another trial in Howard Circuit Court yesterday.
Marvin Philander Smith of Baltimore cited his lack of knowledge in practicing law and understanding courtroom procedures as one of several reasons why he should be given a new trial.
But Judge Raymond Kane Jr. didn't buy Smith's argument. He denied Smith's request for another trial and scheduled his sentencing hearing for Dec. 20.
"I'm satisfied it was appropriate for Mr. Smith to proceed with the trial without counsel," Judge Kane said.
Smith, who has a high-school equivalency diploma, represented himself at his trial after dismissing his public defender, against the recommendation of the attorney and two judges. He was convicted of second-degree murder and battery for the beating death of Vanessa Armstead, a 38-year-old Baltimore resident whose body was found floating in Rocky Gorge Reservoir on April 13, 1993.
Smith, 37, could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. He faces an additional 20-year prison term for his conviction on the battery count.
At yesterday's hearing, Senior Assistant State's Attorney Kate O'Donnell asked Judge Kane to deny Smith's request. She argued that Smith presented no grounds to justify another trial.
But Smith argued that the jury that heard his case should have been permitted to consider convicting him of manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Because the jurors were only allowed to consider first-degree murder, second-degree murder and battery, Smith said, his constitutional rights were violated.
But Judge Kane told Smith that he did not present any evidence or testimony at his trial that would have supported a manslaughter charge, so the jury was not instructed to consider the offense as an alternative to the murder counts.
Smith went on to contend that the jurors were biased against him because he had to wear leg shackles at one point during court proceedings.
Defendants appearing before a Circuit Court jury generally do not wear shackles or handcuffs so jurors don't infer that they are guilty simply because they are restrained.
Smith, who did not raise the issue at the time, estimated that half of the jurors may have seen the shackles.
But Judge Kane said he doesn't believe any of the jurors saw the shackles because the restraints would have been hidden by Smith's trial table.