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Maryland Criminal Defense · Foundations

The Hicks Rule: Maryland's 180-Day Speedy Trial Deadline and the Mistake That Erases It

A clock starts the moment your felony case reaches Circuit Court. Most defendants never hear it ticking — and some give it away by accident.

By Amir Guerami, Esq. · The Guerami Law Firm, LLC

The Fear

A deadline nobody at the courthouse will point out to you

If you have been charged with a felony in Maryland and your case has moved up to Circuit Court, there is a clock running that nobody at the courthouse is going to make sure you hear. It started quietly — the day your lawyer entered the case, or the day you first stood in front of a Circuit Court judge, whichever came first. From that moment, the State of Maryland has 180 days to bring you to trial.

That deadline has a name. Lawyers call it the Hicks date, after a 1979 Maryland decision, _State v. Hicks_. It is one of the strongest protections a defendant has in this state. It is also one of the easiest to lose — not because a judge takes it away, but because a defendant or an unprepared lawyer gives it away without realizing what they are doing.

This article explains what the rule really says, what prosecutors are watching while your case moves through the system, and how a defense that understands the clock can use it.

It is one of the strongest protections a defendant has in Maryland — and one of the easiest to throw away by accident.

The Law in Plain English

What Rule 4-271 and § 6-103 actually require

Two pieces of Maryland law work together here: _Maryland Rule 4-271_ and _Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 6-103_. Together they say that a criminal case in Circuit Court must be brought to trial within 180 days.

The 180 days do not start on the day you were arrested or the day you were charged. The clock begins on the earlier of two events:

1. The day your defense attorney enters their appearance in the case, or
2. The day you first appear in Circuit Court.

Whichever of those happens first is your start date. Count forward 180 days, and you have the Hicks date — the day by which, under the rule, your trial is supposed to begin.

★The Leverage Point

Only one official can lawfully move your trial past the 180-day line, and only on a specific finding:

• The county administrative judge — or a judge that administrative judge specifically designates — must grant the postponement.
• It can be granted only "for good cause shown."
• A regular trial judge cannot do it on their own authority. The prosecutor cannot do it at all.

If the deadline passes without a proper good-cause postponement from the right judge, Maryland law calls for the case to be dismissed.

Why It Matters

This is not the "speedy trial" right you've heard about

Most people have heard of the constitutional right to a speedy trial. It comes from the Sixth Amendment, and Maryland has its own constitutional version too. Here is the honest truth: that constitutional right almost never gets a case dismissed. Courts weigh a list of vague factors, and defendants lose those arguments far more often than they win them.

The Hicks rule is a different animal. It is not the constitutional right. It is a _hard procedural deadline_ written into Maryland's rules and statutes, and it comes with a real and severe consequence — dismissal. That is why it matters so much, and why prosecutors take it seriously even when they pretend the calendar is no big deal.

The Insider Lens

What prosecutors are actually tracking

When I was the one filing these charges, the Hicks date was not an afterthought. It was marked on the file from the beginning. Every prosecutor handling a Circuit Court docket knows precisely when each case runs out of time, and they build their strategy around it.

A few things they are tracking that you may not be:

• _Which postponements count as "good cause."_ A prosecutor who simply isn't ready, or a crowded docket alone, may not be enough. They know which justifications hold up on appeal and push for the strong ones.
• _Whether the right judge signed off._ The good-cause postponement has to come from the administrative judge or that judge's designee. When the State lets a postponement happen the wrong way, that is an opening for the defense.
• _Whether the defense will hand them extra time._ The dismissal sanction disappears when the defense asks for, or agrees to, a date beyond the deadline. Some prosecutors quietly count on it.

When I was the one filing these charges, the Hicks date was circled on every file. The defense's job is to circle it too.

The Trap

How defendants give the clock away

Here is the part that costs people their best defense. The Hicks protection is not bulletproof. Maryland law makes clear that the dismissal remedy does not apply when the defendant, personally or through their attorney, _seeks or expressly consents_ to a trial date past the deadline.

In plain terms: if you ask for the delay, or your lawyer agrees to it, you cannot later complain that the State missed the clock. You gave them the time. The trapdoor swings open the moment the defense requests or consents to a date beyond Hicks — and it does not swing back.

!Mistakes That Erase the Clock

• Agreeing to a "more convenient" trial date without anyone first calculating where the Hicks date falls. A date that sounds fine may be three weeks past your deadline.
• Asking for your own continuance to prepare, find a private lawyer, or gather money — not realizing the request itself can erase the dismissal sanction.
• Switching attorneys late, which can cause delay that gets charged to the defense rather than the State.
• Confusing this with the constitutional right and assuming "they're taking too long, so my case has to be dropped."
• Saying nothing when a postponement is offered. Silence and a shrug can read, on the record, like consent.

The Defense

What a real defense does with the clock

A defense that respects the Hicks rule starts working it the day the case arrives in Circuit Court. Concretely, that looks like:

• _Calculating the Hicks date immediately._ The start date and the 180-day deadline get written down before anything else happens. You cannot protect a deadline you have not calculated.
• _Guarding the date on the record._ When the State asks to postpone, a prepared lawyer objects, refuses to consent absent a real strategic reason, and forces the State to justify good cause to the administrative judge.
• _Making the State prove good cause._ "Good cause" is a standard the State has to meet, not a box it gets to check — and an improper postponement builds a record for appeal.
• _Filing the motion to dismiss_ when the deadline is blown without a proper postponement. It is one of the few motions that can end a case before a jury hears a single witness.

★Strategy Cuts Both Ways

Sometimes more time genuinely helps the defense, and a knowing, deliberate decision to waive the clock can be the right call. The difference between a costly mistake and a sound strategic choice is simple: someone who understands the rule made the decision on purpose, with eyes open — not by accident at a routine hearing.

The Bottom Line

A deadline built to keep the State honest

The Hicks rule is not a technicality or a trick. It is a deadline Maryland built into its own rules to keep the State from letting cases drift while a person's life hangs in the balance. Used well, it is one of the sharpest tools in a defendant's hands. Ignored, it quietly disappears. Which of those happens usually comes down to whether the person on your side of the courtroom was counting the days from the very beginning.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. If you or someone you love has been charged, speak with a Maryland criminal defense attorney about your specific situation before making any decisions.

Stand on Both Sides of the Courtroom

If you have been charged with a crime or a serious traffic offense in Maryland, do not plead until you have spoken to a lawyer who has stood on both sides of the courtroom. Contact The Guerami Law Firm, LLC through NoPleaMD.com for a confidential consultation with Amir Guerami and his team.