State v. Hunt
Annotate this CaseAt the center of this case was the report of a Baltimore Sun reporter that a high-ranking Maryland law enforcement ballistic expert named Joseph Kopera had lied, as an expert witness for the prosecution, about his credentials and qualifications in Maryland trials for more than twenty years. Kopera testified in the trials of Ronnie Hunt and Kevin Hardy (together, Respondents). Respondents, both incarcerated, filed petitions for writ of actual innocence in their related cases, alleging that the questions about Kopera’s qualifications were newly discovered evidence that created a substantial or significant possibility that the outcomes in their trials may have been different had Kopera not lied. Respondents also asserted that the newly discovered evidence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Maryland Rule 4-331. The circuit court denied the petitions without a hearing. The Court of Special Appeals reversed in both instances and remanded for further proceedings. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that because the petitions filed by Respondents satisfied the pleading standards established by Md. Code Ann. Crim. Proc. 8-301 and evaluated in Douglas v. State, Respondents were entitled to hearings on their petitions.
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