La Plata, MD – As public defenders go, theirs is a tumultuous, at times frustrating job. They do, however, advocate passionately for clients regardless of crime, once in a while garnering their share of respect and sometimes no small degree of irritation from their assistant state’s attorney counterparts and in some cases, from the bench as well.

None of this diminishes in any way the ardent fervor with which they defend the accused.

And once in a while such battles are rewarded with moral victories.

Such was the troubling case of Ricardo Anthony Davis, 47 of Washington, DC, who was convicted in 2013 of stabbing two men in an altercation at World of Wings in Waldorf in November of 2012.

Davis, facing 45 years for the crime, appealed.

For Charles County assistant public defenders Michele Harewood and David Rangaviz, the effort of retrying the case must have been akin to slogging through mud or at the very least, David taking on Goliath.

The state may have had fuzzy video, filmed on the investigating officer’s iPhone from a surveillance video, but they also had a strong case. The defendant used a knife in his attack and they had a confession.

The trial began Monday, July 12 and plodded through five long days of testimony and video interviews until late Friday, July 17, when one hour away from the witching hour, a Charles County Circuit Court jury returned a verdict of guilty on one count of second-degree assault, which was merged with a lesser penalty of attempted voluntary manslaughter.

The difference is significant.

Judge Helen I. Harrington sentenced Davis to six years in the Maryland House of Corrections, which a relieved Rangaviz noted, “is a lot better than 45 years.”

Harrington’s sentence to Davis reflected the fair yet firm tenacity with which she conducted a difficult and laborious trial. When information was revealed while the jury was out of the courtroom that one of the victims is now incarcerated in South Carolina, Harewood argued the jury should know that.

Harrington ruled they would not, stating it was not relevant to this case as his arrest and incarceration occurred well after the Nov. 6, 2012 incident in Waldorf.

In the end, the state got a conviction, and Davis received a reasonable sentence from a fair judge. He has two hardworking Charles County assistant public defenders to thank for that.

See previous story:

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0715/jurysverdictondoublestabbingpending.html

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com