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Crane v. Dunn7/26/2004
In Maryland, a guilty plea to a traffic citation is admissible in a civil trial; its probative value is deemed to outweigh any prejudicial effect. An express acknowledgment of guilt to the charged offense in open court is far more probative than a questionable acknowledgment of culpability that might be inferred from paying a preset fine in lieu of going to court." Briggeman v. Albert, 322 Md. 133, 139, 586 A.2d 15, 18 (1991).
In this case we must decide whether the trial judge correctly excluded evidence of a party's guilty plea, in traffic court, to the charge of negligent driving when that evidence was offered at a subsequent civil trial. We hold that the trial judge *88 misinterpreted our decision in Briggeman and erroneously excluded a party opponent's prior admission of guilt.
FACTS
Linda J. Crane (" Crane") and Annie V. Dunn (" Dunn") were friends and co-workers who were involved in a single vehicle accident on August 19, 1998. The accident occurred while Crane and Dunn traveled home together after an evening at Midway Slots in Harrington, Delaware. [FN1] Dunn was driving her Toyota pickup and Crane was her passenger. No other people or vehicles were involved in the accident. Both parties testified and gave conflicting versions as to how the accident happened. Although they agree that Dunn left the main traveled portion of the roadway to avoid striking a deer, that the accident happened between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and that Dunn drove either below or at the posted speed of 50 mph, they gave contradictory versions of the specific details of the accident.
FN1. Both Crane and Dunn drank alcohol during the course of the evening at the casino and before the accident. The parties stipulated, however, that the consumption of alcohol was not a cause of the accident and that there would be no reference to alcohol in the civil case.
According to Crane, as Dunn drove along Whiteleysburg Road, Rt. 314 in Maryland, a deer ran parallel to the right side of the road and the pickup truck. Dunn swerved sharply to the left to avoid a collision and drove into a field, through a ditch, a fence and into another ditch before the vehicle came to rest. The vehicle traveled off the roadway approximately 50 feet. Crane explained that the deer was actually a car length away in front of them before it came across the road in front of the truck. On the other hand, Dunn testified that, as she drove along Rt. 314, Crane yelled, "watch out," and then she saw the deer for the first time, "coming out in front and that's when [she] swerved to the left." According to Dunn the deer did not run parallel with the truck until she swerved left. Dunn pointed out that her evasive actions were taken to "get around the deer," so she, "intentionally drove off the road" *89 into a field "to avoid the deer," and at no time applied her brakes to avoid striking the deer.
Prior to the civil trial in the Circuit Court for Caroline County, Dunn appeared in the District Court of Maryland sitting in Caroline County on December 17, 1998, and pleaded guilty to negligent driving, Md.Code (1977, 2002 Repl.Vol.), § 21-901.1(b) of the Transportation Article. The additional traffic citations for driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence, Md.Code (1977, 2002 Repl.Vol.), §§ 21-902(a) and (b) of the Transportation Article, respectively, were abandoned in the District Court proceedings. [FN2] The maximum **1184 penalty for negligent driving is $500, including administrative sanctions. Md.Code (1977, 2002 Repl.Vol.), §§ 27-101 and 16-402 of the Transportation Article.
FN2. No transcript of the District Court proceedings was offered into evidence at the civil trial. A Notice of Nolle Prosequi filed in the District Court proceedings was offered into
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