Fuller v. State (Ct of Appeals)

Filed March 13, 2007 – Opinion by Judge Lynne Battaglia

Petitioner, Gerald Davis Fuller, serving two concurrent natural life sentences had petitioned for Commitment to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration pursuant to Section 8-50 7 of the Health-General Article of the Maryland Code (1982, 2005 Repl. Vol., 2006 Supp.). The Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied the petition, and Fuller appealed. The Court of Special Appeals concluded that the denial of Fuller’s petition was not appealable and dismissed the appeal. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the denial of a petition under Section 8-507 of the Health-General Article is not appealable. The Court determined that because a petition for commitment, unlike a motion for modification, initiates a statutory cause of action separate from the conviction that can be filed repeatedly and because the General Assembly did not proactively and clearly confer the right of appeal to petitioners denied relief under Section 8-507, no right to appeal existed.

The opinion is available in PDF.