Miller v. State

1

BERNARD ERIC MILLER v. STATE OF MARYLAND

No. 2293-2022

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

September 18, 2024

UNREPORTED^[*] IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND

Circuit Court for Howard County Case No. 13-K-92-027164

Arthur, Zic, Raker, Irma S. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.

OPINION

Arthur, J. On September 8, 1992, 16-year-old Bernard Miller and 26-year-old Rodney Solomon attempted to steal cars from two victims before stealing a car from a third victim, Dr. Pamela Basu. As they drove away in the stolen car, they dragged Dr. Basu along the road for nearly two miles. Dr. Basu died from the resulting injuries.

Miller was tried as an adult in the Circuit Court for Howard County and found guilty of robbery, first-degree felony murder, and other offenses.^[1] The court sentenced him to imprisonment for life plus a consecutive term of 10 years.

After nearly 30 years of imprisonment, Miller moved to reduce the duration of his sentence under Md. Code (2001, 2018 Repl. Vol., 2022 Supp.), § 8-110 of the Criminal Procedure Article. That provision, enacted in 2021 as part of the Juvenile Restoration Act, allows a person convicted for offenses committed as a minor to seek a sentence reduction after serving at least 20 years of the sentence. The circuit court denied Miller's motion.

Miller has appealed, contending that the circuit court applied incorrect legal standards when it denied his motion. The State has moved to dismiss the appeal, contending that the order denying the motion to reduce sentence is not appealable. The State further contends that the court did not err or abuse its discretion when it denied the motion.

For the reasons discussed in this opinion, we deny the State's motion to dismiss the appeal. In our review of the circuit court's ruling, we conclude that the court made a legal error as part of its consideration of Miller's age at the time of the offenses. Consequently, we vacate the order denying his motion to reduce the duration of sentence and remand the case for further proceedings so that the court may reevaluate the motion under the correct legal standards.

Factual and Procedural Background

A. Miller's Convictions and Sentences

On the morning of September 8, 1992, 16-year-old Bernard Miller was one of three passengers in a car driven by 26-year-old Rodney Solomon. Miller, who was a coowner of the car but who did not have a driver's license, allowed Solomon to use the car to take a friend to a job-training program. The car ran out of gas on Interstate 95 in Howard County. Solomon and Miller walked to a nearby rest area, while the other two passengers stayed in the car.

In the parking lot, Solomon and Miller encountered Grace Lagana as she was arriving for work at the rest area. Solomon demanded her car keys, threatened to shoot her, and forcibly took her keys. Miller grabbed her wrist and forced her to the ground so that he could enter the car. A bystander heard Ms. Lagana call for help and started to run toward the car. Unable to start the engine, Solomon and Miller fled on foot through a wooded area between the rest area and a residential neighborhood.

Moments later, Solomon and Miller encountered Laura Becraft in the driveway of her home as she was preparing to drive her son to kindergarten. Solomon asked to use the phone at her house, and Ms. Becraft told him that she did not have time to help. Ms. Becraft drove a short distance to pick up a neighbor's child at another house on the same street. Solomon and Miller then rushed toward the car. Solomon demanded her car keys, claimed that he had a gun, and grabbed her while trying to take her keys. When Ms. Becraft screamed for someone to call the police, Solomon stopped the attack and walked away, with Miller next to him.^[2]

A few blocks away from Ms. Becraft's home, Dr. Pamela Basu was driving her two-year-old daughter Sarina to her first day of preschool. Solomon and Miller approached Dr. Basu's car while it was stopped at an intersection. They began punching Dr. Basu and trying to pull her out of the driver's side window. Miller entered the car from the passenger side. Miller pushed and kicked Dr. Basu to force her out of her car. Dr. Basu screamed, "My baby, my baby!" as she tried to reach her daughter in a car seat attached to one of the rear seats. As Solomon forced his way into the car and closed the door, Dr. Basu's arm became entangled in her seat belt. Solomon drove the car away, dragging Dr. Basu along the road. Dr. Basu died from countless injuries inflicted over her entire body.

In reaction to crying noises from the back seat, Miller made striking motions toward the car seat where Sarina Basu was secured. After Solomon stopped the car, Miller removed the car seat and threw it onto the road with Sarina still inside it. Bystanders rescued Sarina from the road.

Solomon and Miller left Dr. Basu's body in the middle of a road, approximately 1.7 miles from where they had stolen the car. They drove to a car wash to remove her blood from the outside of the car. After they left the car wash, a police officer spotted the stolen car and chased it until it reached a police roadblock. Solomon crashed the car while trying to evade the roadblock. Police apprehended Miller climbing out of the car and apprehended Solomon after a foot chase.

By indictment in the Circuit Court for Howard County, the State charged Miller with first-degree murder of Pamela Basu, kidnapping of Sarina Basu, and other offenses related to the robbery of Pamela Basu and the attempted robberies of Grace Lagana and Laura Becraft. The circuit court denied Miller's motion to transfer his case to juvenile court. The State prosecuted Miller separately from his accomplice, Rodney Solomon.^[3]

After a multi-week trial in April 1993, the jury found Miller guilty of robbery and first-degree felony murder of Pamela Basu. The jury found Miller guilty of kidnapping Sarina Basu. With respect to the first victim, Grace Lagana, the jury found Miller guilty of assault, battery, and attempted theft. The jury found Miller guilty of assault with intent to rob the second victim, Laura Becraft.

On June 29, 1993, the circuit court sentenced Miller to life imprisonment for the murder of Pamela Basu and a consecutive term of 10 years for the kidnapping of Sarina Basu. The court sentenced him to seven years for the attempted theft against Grace Lagana, one year for the battery of Grace Lagana, and three years for assault with intent to rob Laura Becraft. The court ordered that these three sentences would be consecutive to each other (for a total of 11 years) and concurrent with the life sentence for the murder of Pamela Basu.

Miller noted an appeal, but his appeal eventually was dismissed because of the failure to produce transcripts of the trial.^[4] In 1998, the circuit court denied Miller's motion for modification of sentence under Md. Rule 4-345(e). In 2010, the circuit court partially granted Miller's petition for post-conviction relief and permitted him to pursue a belated appeal. Ultimately, this Court affirmed the judgments in an unreported opinion. Miller v. State, No. 2180, Sept. Term 2010 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Apr. 25, 2013), cert. denied, 433 Md. 514 (2013).

The Maryland Parole Commission refused to grant parole to Miller in 2006 and again in 2017. After two amended decisions, the Commission granted Miller the opportunity for a new parole hearing in 2027, under a policy requiring the Commission to allow parole hearings at least once every 10 years for juvenile offenders.

B. The Juvenile Restoration Act

In 2021, the General Assembly enacted the Juvenile Restoration Act, which took effect on October 1, 2021. 2021 Md. Laws ch. 61, § 2. The Act made "three significant changes" to sentencing practices in Maryland for offenders convicted as an adult for offenses committed as a minor. Jedlicka v. State, 481 Md. 178, 189 (2022).

First, the Juvenile Restoration Act authorizes trial courts, when sentencing a minor convicted as an adult, to impose a sentence less than the minimum term required by law. Md. Code (2001, 2018 Repl. Vol., 2022 Supp.), § 6-235(1) of the Criminal Procedure Article ("CP"). Second, the Act prohibits trial courts from imposing a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release when sentencing a minor convicted as an adult. CP § 6-235(2). Third, the Act permits certain juvenile offenders sentenced before the effective date of the Act to seek a reduction of sentence after serving 20 years of the sentence. CP § 8-110.

The sentence-reduction provisions of the Juvenile Restoration Act are available only to a person who was convicted as an adult for an offense committed when the person was a minor;^[5] who was sentenced before the effective date of the Act; and who has been imprisoned for at least 20 years for the offense. CP § 8-110(a). An offender who satisfies the eligibility criteria may file a motion to reduce the duration of the sentence. CP § 8-110(b)(1). The circuit court must hold a hearing before deciding to grant or deny the motion. CP § 8-110(b)(2). The offender has the right to be present at the hearing (CP § 8-110(b)(3)) and to introduce evidence in support of the motion. CP § 8-110(b)(4)(i). The State may introduce evidence either in opposition to or in support of the motion. CP § 8-110(b)(4)(ii). Notice of the hearing must be provided to the victim or to the victim's representative. CP § 8-110(b)(5).

CP § 8-110(d) sets forth the factors that the court must consider when deciding whether to reduce the duration of a sentence. Those factors are:

(1) the individual's age at the time of the offense;

(2) the nature of the offense and the history and characteristics of the individual;

(3) whether the individual

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