Maryland v. Soper (No. 3)

Background

The State of Maryland challenged a federal court’s taking of a criminal case that began in a county court. A man named E. Franklin Ely, described as a government officer, was indicted for allegedly lying under oath during a coroner’s inquiry into the death of Wenger; the charge said Ely had hidden and watched the bringing of a still and then denied seeing Wenger. The indictment had been removed from the Harford County Circuit Court to the United States District Court for Maryland, prompting Maryland to seek a writ of mandamus (a court order requiring a judge to do a duty) to force the case back to state court.

Reasoning

The Court treated the question the same way it had in a closely related case decided at the same time. The main issue was whether there was any proper ground to shift this state criminal prosecution into federal court. Applying the earlier decision’s principles, the Court concluded there was no valid reason to remove the perjury prosecution. The Court therefore granted the mandamus and directed that the removal be undone, which sends the case back to the state court where it started.

Real world impact

As a direct result, Ely’s perjury prosecution returns to Maryland’s state court system rather than staying in federal court. The ruling narrows circumstances under which similar state criminal cases can be moved into federal courts, preserving state control over local prosecutions. This opinion addresses only the procedural question of removal, not the defendant’s guilt or innocence.