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Perry v. State12/10/1999
so) as an outright prohibition requiring conformance with two-party consent, or whatever the consent standard was, or would be in Maryland. The later language, as I view it, is less prohibitory. It appears to me to state that if the acquiring of the evidence actually violates Maryland law, then the evidence is inadmissible. Under the earlier version, it can reasonably be argued that conformance to certain requirements must be met before the evidence is admissible. A reasonable interpretation of the change in language is that, thereafter, in order to be inadmissible, the recording must have actually violated Maryland law. I see no other logical purpose (presuming there was a logical purpose) for the change. Considering that this legislative history, sparse as it is, was not addressed in Mustafa, I believe the Mustafa Court was incorrect in its construction of the statute in the first instance.
The Supreme Court has stated that "it is common wisdom that the rule of stare decisis is not an `inexorable command,' and certainly it is not such in every constitutional case." Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 854, 112 S. Ct. 2791, 2808, 120 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1992).
Stare decisis is the preferred course because it promotes the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles, fosters reliance on judicial decisions, and contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process. Adhering to precedent is usually the wise policy, because in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than it be settled right. Nevertheless, when governing decisions are unworkable or are badly reasoned, this Court has never felt constrained to follow precedent. Stare decisis is not an inexorable command; rather, it is a principle of policy and not a mechanical formula of adherence to the latest decision. [Citations omitted.] [Internal quotation omitted.] Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 827-28, 111 S. Ct. 2597, 2609, 115 L. Ed. 2d 720 (1991).
This Court has also noted that, although important, the rule of stare decisis is not an absolute:
t is a well recognized and valuable doctrine that decisions, once made on a question involved in a case before a court, should not thereafter be lightly disturbed or set aside (except by a higher court). This is because it is advisable and necessary that the law should be fixed and established so far as possible, and the people guided in their personal and business dealings by established Conclusions, not subject to change because some other Judge or Judges think differently.
On the other hand, it is sometimes advisable to correct a decision or decisions wrongly made in the first instance, if it is found that the decision is clearly wrong and contrary to other established principles. Townsend v. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., 186 Md. 406, 417, 47 A.2d 365, 370 (1946); see also Hearst Corp. v. State Dep't of Assessments & Taxation, 269 Md. 625, 643-44, 308 A.2d 679, 689 (1973) ("The doctrine of stare decisis, important as it is, is not to be construed as preventing us from changing a rule of law if we are convinced that the rule has become unsound in the circumstances of modern life." (quoting White v. King, 244 Md. 348, 354, 223 A.2d 763, 767 (1966))); Greenwood v. Greenwood, 28 Md. 369, 381 (1868) ("Previous decisions of this court should not be disturbed . . . unless it is plainly seen that glaring inJustice has been done or some egregious blunder committed.").
Previous decisions governing the interpretation of statutes are generally entitled to greater deference under the doctrine of stare decisis; such decisions, however, must always yield to commo
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