Adler v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore

The appellant, Spencer Crossland, was indicted by the Grand Jury of Baltimore City in 1966 on four counts: (1) on having committed a daytime house-breaking, (2) for being a rogue and vagabond, (3) for having committed larceny and (4) for having received stolen goods. The case was tried before Judge James A. Perrott, without a jury, in the Criminal Court of Baltimore. The trial court granted Crosslands motion for a directed verdict at the conclusion of the States case with respect to the first, third and fourth counts of the indictment because the State had failed to prove ownership of the stolen articles. Crossland, however, was convicted of being a rogue and vagabond under the second count and was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment from January 23, 1967, when Crosslands motion for a new trial was overruled. Crossland appealed to the Court of Special Appeals, contending that the evidence in the case was insufficient to sustain the conviction. The Court of Special Appeals on January 11, 1968 affirmed Crosslands conviction. See Crossland v. State, 2 Md. App. 722, 237 A.2d 85. We granted certiorari on April 11, 1968.