State v. Simms
Annotate this CaseRespondent Perry Simms was charged with murder as well as various weapons charges. Before the trial, Simms filed a timely notice of alibi witnesses, listing the names of eleven individuals. Prior to admission, the notice was redacted so that it showed only the name of Simms's father. At trial, the notice was admitted into evidence by the State and submitted to the jury along with transcripts of jailhouse phone calls. The trial judge reasoned that the notice was probative evidence of guilt when considered in conjunction with the phone calls, in which Simms and other callers referred to people who could vouch for Simms's whereabouts on the night of the incident. The intermediate appellate court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion by admitting, over objections, a redacted copy of the alibi notice and that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the court of special appeals, holding that admission of the alibi notice was error and an abuse of discretion, and the error was not harmless.
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