New hearing and trial dates have been set in the case against Tyler Mailloux following a lengthy appeals process that concluded last month.
During a status hearing Monday in Worcester County Circuit Court, Judge Brett Wilson, along with legal counsel for both the state and the defense, agreed to schedule a new motions hearing on Nov. 21, followed by a 13-day trial March 3-19. While there was some question of the court exceeding its try-by date — known in legal proceedings as the “Hicks” date or “Hicks” deadline — all agreed there was good cause to extend beyond it.
“I wouldn’t want to rush you into a trial,” Wilson said.
Monday’s scheduling will essentially reset the criminal case against Mailloux, 23, who faces 17 traffic charges in the death of Gavin Knupp, a 14-year-old Ocean Pines resident who was stuck and killed by a motorist in a black Mercedes while crossing Grays Corner Road on the night of July 11, 2022. Knupp was reportedly returning to a vehicle driven by his older sister and died from injuries sustained in the collision. Mailloux is accused of fleeing the scene and not returning, according to charges filed.
Since charges were filed in April of 2023, the case has worked its way through the legal system, starting with a motions hearing last August. At that hearing, Wilson granted the defense’s motion to dismiss, opining that the district court had “exclusive and original” jurisdiction. From there, the prosecution appealed the ruling to the Appellate Court of Maryland, which heard oral arguments earlier this year. When the circuit court ruling was reversed, Mailloux then petitioned the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the decision.
I know nothing about the law, and in fact probably not much about a great many things, but can somebody more learned than I explain why in the world this is taking so bloody long?
Great…the same visiting retired judge that was totally wrong and tossed out the case the first time, then was excoriated by the court of appeals for making that decision in the first place.