Lee Boyd Malvo v. State of Maryland No. 29, September Term, 2021. Criminal Procedure – Constitutional Law – Sentencing of Juvenile Offender – Homicide. Recent Supreme Court decisions have held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not permit a sentence of life without parole for a juvenile offender convicted of homicide if the sentencing court determines that the offender’s crime was the result of transient immaturity, as opposed to permanent incorrigibility. That constitutional constraint applies retroactively. However, a court that imposes a sentence in a discretionary sentencing regime need not make an explicit finding as to a juvenile offender’s incorrigibility. In a case where sentencing took place prior to the recent Supreme Court decisions and where the sentencing judge may have determined that the defendant was not permanently incorrigible, the defendant is entitled to be resentenced to ensure compliance with the Eighth Amendment. The terms of that sentence remain within the discretion of the sentencing court. Criminal Procedure – Sentencing of Juvenile Offender – Juvenile Restoration Act. Under the Juvenile Restoration Act (“JUVRA”), a juvenile offender who was convicted as an adult and who is serving a sentence that was imposed before October 1, 2021 may file a motion for reduction of sentence after serving 20 years of the sentence. JUVRA likely provides the “meaningful opportunity for release” required for most such offenders under the Supreme Court’s recent decisions interpreting the Eighth Amendment. However, in the specific case of a juvenile offender serving multiple consecutive sentences of life without parole that were imposed prior to the Supreme Court decisions, and where the sentencing court could not have determined whether, under those decisions, the offender was one of the few offenders not entitled to a meaningful opportunity for release, JUVRA is not a substitute for resentencing. Circuit Court for Montgomery County Case No. 102675C Argued: February 8, 2022 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 29 September Term, 2021 LEE BOYD MALVO v. STATE OF MARYLAND *Getty, C.J., *McDonald Watts Hotten Booth Biran Gould, JJ. Opinion by McDonald, J. Watts, Hotten, and Gould, JJ., dissent. Filed: August 26, 2022 *Getty, C.J., and McDonald, J., now Senior Judges, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while active members of this Court. After being recalled pursuant to Maryland Constitution, Article IV, §3A, they also participated in the Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal decision and the adoption of this opinion. Materials Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. 2022-08-26 09:29-04:00 Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk To be legal, a sentence in a criminal case must be consistent both with the law governing the offense for which the defendant was convicted and with the Eighth Amendment’s proscription against “cruel and unusual” punishments. During the past two decades, the United States Supreme Court has issued several decisions elaborating on the application of the Eighth Amendment to juvenile offenders sentenced as adults. This case concerns whether a juvenile offender who was sentenced prior …
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