53,603 ballots were sent to Baltimore . I am running to continue our efforts to protect all of the citizens of Baltimore County from crime. Ten days after Election Day, Shellenberger officially prevailed Friday in the Democratic contest between him and Robbie Leonard, a former public defender who is now an attorney in private practice. Where do you see room for improvement in how sexual assault survivors are treated by law enforcement and prosecutors? Some female voters told The Baltimore Sun during the campaign that issues related to sexual assault were why they supported Leonard. Baltimore County voters have made their selections in primary races for state's attorney, the County Council and county executive ahead of the November general contest. The final unofficial votes were Shellenberger with 44,962 and Leonard with 42,847. Shellenbergers tactic is to lean on the justice system. Leonard has been a practicing attorney for 15 years and served as a public defender in Baltimore City. Law Clerks are assigned to work in one of the trial units. The State's Attorney needs to be actively involved in addressing these issues when we are dealing with lower level crimes. Pat Young was ahead of candidates Paul Dongarra and Danielle Nicole Singley in early returns. Early numbers showed a very tight race, with the two separated by a fraction of a percentage point. He was also given the Gun Sense Candidate distinction from Moms Demand Action to End Gun Violence. No additional details on the reasons for declined criminal charges were provided. The Baltimore County Board of Elections certified the county's results Friday, following a week of counting thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots. He said he believes that a comment that he made at a forum about the homicide rate being relatively stable has been misconstrued. She previously worked on the print layout design team at The Diamondback, reported on criminal justice in Maryland for Capital News Service and served as a production assistant for The Confluence the daily news magazine on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburghs NPR member station. That is about to change. Shellenberger also refuted the notion that he is too close with the countys Fraternal Order of Police, saying he has a list of 18 police officers including the organizations past president that his office has prosecuted in the past few years. Leonard said, Just in the past few years weve seen so many civilians who have been killed by the police, whether they were suffering a mental health crisis or just being Black.. And I think he has the experience and the background to be a good states attorney., He said he supports term limits and believes that a change in leadership in these offices is necessary to bring in new ideas and perspectives. No Republican has challenged Shellenberger in the general election since 2010. Haynes led the primary Tuesday night. And its not OK for the states attorneys office to turn their back on their sworn oath.. I do not believe the facts that you revealed the first time to the police amount to a crime in the state of Maryland.. Law Clerks are an essential part of the office. At the end of the day, Robbie garnered so much support because so many people supported his vision, Rev. The Sun obtained a recording of the May 16 exchange from Leonard, who also spoke in the event. Assistant attorney general and then trial attorney who handled insurance defense work for the same agency under different names, the State Accident Fund, Injured Workers Insurance Fund, and currently Chesapeake Employers Insurance, from 1987-2006. News you can trust. A tough-on-crime Democrat, Shellenberger will square up against the young, self-described progressive attorney and secretary of the Maryland Democratic Party at the polls in July. Tracking prosecutorial decisions is difficult due to a lack of public reporting. We have removed the defense that a person cannot be convicted of sexually assaulting a spouse. The states attorney said he has supported what he considers reasonable criminal justice reform, and touted his long experience prosecuting crime and supervising dozens of attorneys. The voters of Baltimore County deserve that change. [Live election results: Maryland Gubernatorial primary]. This is a place where I was well prepared when I first came into office and am even more prepared to continue to lead the office now, he added. Prosecutors had declined to take the case, but the woman tried to pursue charges on her own through the court commissioner. Juris doctor from University of Baltimore of School of Law in 1984. He described that practice as unprofessional, stating that its wrong to mix public service with considerations of political loyalty. Shellenberger has cruised to reelection for more than a decade. He later changed his position, saying he saw the value in testing all kits because doing so can link suspects to other sex offenses. Has Maryland gone too far, or far enough, when it comes to police reform? Education: Bachelors degree in English from the University of Maryland in 1973. Shellenbergers re-election bid got off to a slow start. He unseated the two-term incumbent, Marilyn Mosby, in the Democratic primary and did not face a challenger in the general election. Were not going to say, Well, its a stalemate. But he and his prosecutors have faced questions about their decision-making on charging perpetrators, particularly when the victim did not report an assault right away or was intoxicated when it happened. I have stressed that during my time as the State's Attorney to all who work for me. On election day I got the most votes. Find Maryland Election Campaign & Political lawyers, attorneys, law firms - MD Election Campaign & Political Lawyers We have a very robust program thats been going on for a couple years now to get caught up on this, so I think I think were doing a better job there, he said. Recently, Peisinger has also come under some scrutiny for his handling of police involved shooting incidents. The council elections took place under a newly drawn political map. www.thebaltimorebanner.com 2022 The Baltimore Banner. The Baltimore County States Attorneys Office requested that law enforcement ask her not to seek charges against the men after prosecutors declined to proceed with a case. We cannot ignore, however, that there are victims of low-level offenses also. Should certain crimes be prioritized and, if so, which? The Baltimore Sun typically does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault. Attorney at the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos from 1993-2006. The PAC filed in mid-June and its spending, only related to Leonards campaign, far outmatched what either candidate raised throughout the primary. Im worth fighting for, she said in the interview. The Working Families Party and Progressive Maryland endorsed Robbie Leonard in the 2022 race for Baltimore County States Attorney on Tuesday. Baltimore County State's Attorney. Longtime Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenbergers record on handling sexual assault cases is in the spotlight as he seeks a fifth term as the countys top prosecutor. That doesnt mean that everybody goes to jail, he said. State Del. We need to have a police department which earns and deserves the respect of all. But the results took more than a week and initially Leonard led the 16-year incumbent by more than 800 votes. Other controversies in Baltimore Countys sexual assault investigations and prosecutions have ranged from the lack of testing and destruction of rape kits to authorities reluctance to bring criminal charges unless theres evidence a victim physically resisted. Im happy to see that a billionaire couldnt buy an election, County Councilman Tom Quirk, an Oella Democrat who supported Shellenberger, said this week as Shellenberger was ahead during vote-counting. He said his office now requires more documentation about its decisions to approve or decline charges in similar cases. She grew up in Ocean City. Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby lost her reelection bid to defense attorney Ivan Bates in the Democratic primary after she was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges. She also spoke in June at a virtual town hall hosted by 1199SEIU, a health care union that endorsed Leonard, in partnership with the a new group called Legal Justice Alliance of Baltimore County. At the May online meeting of the Southwest Baltimore County Democratic Club, Shellenberger confirmed hed met with the woman and didnt believe prosecutors could prove her case. The task forces original report found prosecutors declined to charge in 57% of the audits sampling of sexual assault cases reported from 2016 through 2018, and brought charges in 34%. James A. Haynes. State's Attorney Republican Candidates - Vote for 1 We need people with new ideas that are gonna change the status quo, which is not really working, Matey said after casting her vote at Catonsville High School Tuesday afternoon. Most of the time, Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger does not even draw a general election challenger. The State Board of Elections provides all eligible citizens of the State convenient access to voter registration; provides all registered voters accessible locations in which they may exercise their right to vote, to ensure uniformity of election practices; to promote fair and equitable elections; and to maintain registration records, campaign fund reports, and other election-related data accurately and in a form that is accessible to the public. With a larger staff, Haynes said, the office would be able to better cooperate with police in building cases and cut down on postponements. When faced with holding police accountable, how should prosecutors navigate investigating and potentially bringing charges against an agency the office works closely with? This is accomplished by a multifaceted approach to crime. Since his election, Mr. Shellenberger has fought for justice, fairness, and accountability in the criminal justice system. For the first time in a decade, Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger (D) will have a Republican opponent to campaign against if he can beat Robbie Leonard (D) in the 2022 primary election. Throughout the Democratic campaign, Leonard sought to bring scrutiny to Shellenbergers record in office. One plaintiff, Anna Borkowski, told the magazine that Shellenberger sent three members of the Baltimore County Police Department to her grandmothers house in Baltimore City, which is out of their jurisdiction, to tell her to stop attempting to file charges against her assailants. Shellenberger has said the office doesnt collect data around the number of criminal prosecutions, convictions or victim and perpetrator demographics making it challenging for observers to analyze outcomes. And the voters of Baltimore County deserve that change.. Their analysis of a random sampling of 2020 cases found positive steps on the police end of investigations: Fewer cases were being closed as unfounded and nearly all included the testing of rape kits. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. A woman confronted Shellenberger at a local Democratic club meeting in mid-May to ask why prosecutors did not bring criminal charges in her 2018 rape case. The. He said crime and the fear of crime does not seem to be getting better. From our perspective, we see the states attorney as a law-and-order candidate, Folderauer said And obviously, that is the oath that we have taken. Additionally, it found three prosecutors were consulted on the most cases, of the 56 the audit examined that named a prosecutor. It is among dozens of groups pumping money into local races for head prosecutor across the U.S. and funded generously by New York billionaire George Soros and groups associated with him. an audit to examine possible racial disparities. Many different voices made themselves heard throughout the course of this primary election, and I was heartened by the instances when the issues were fairly discussed and debated, he said. Our job is to strive to always do the right thing. The strength of Leonards candidacy, I think, suggests that the public has an appetite for criminal justice reform.. - University of Baltimore, School of Law, 1984 - Loyola College, 1981, - State's Attorney for Baltimore County since 2007 - Won election in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. Elected officials such as Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., he noted, have endorsed his opponent. The 16-year incumbent released a statement . They deserve some finality. Some areas, though, recently saw an uptick in homicides at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hannah Gaskill received her masters of journalism degree in December 2019 from the University of Maryland. All Rights Reserved. (WBFF) Incumbent Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger has won the Democratic primary after facing a strong challenge from progressive defense. If Leonard clinches the Democratic nomination, hell have ousted one of the most prominent voices on law enforcement and criminal justice in Annapolis. July 29, 2022. Any questions or feedback can be sent to elections@baltsun.com, or read more about the questionnaire process here. McDonough faces a misdemeanor theft charge in connection with allegations he stole a Badillo campaign sign in Parkville. David Folderauer, president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, which has endorsed Shellenberger, said its members have worked with him for years and are impressed with how he runs his office. This is contrary to our ethical obligation and does a disservice to victims of sexual assault if the process loses its legitimacy by inappropriate prosecutions. Advertisement Incumbent Democrat Johnny Olszewski defeated former. Leonard supporters said the candidates platform is what attracted voters. During his tenure, Shellenberger has faced criticism for how his office has handled sex crimes and declined to charge some police officers who have used deadly force. He said he feels that he has a greater diversity of experience than his opponent. According to his most recent financial disclosure, he has around $22,000 in his campaign coffers. Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for Baltimore County. Cox initially said he would offer some comment but left without speaking to reporters after the results were announced. TurnAround, she said, is eager to work with the office on enhancing victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches to working with survivors. BALTIMORE Although the Primary Election has come and gone, some races have yet to be called. The political action committee spent hundreds of thousands on mailings and ads in support of Leonard. One group, the Maryland Justice & Public Safety PAC, poured more than $780,000 into an effort to support Leonards candidacy with mailers, TV ads and other campaign spending. He wanted to engage with those directly impacted by the failings of the justice system, such as domestic violence victims and people returning home after incarceration. Apr 2013 - Sep 20141 year 6 months. The results ahead of Monday's. Shellenberger: 30,449 Leonard: 29,531 There remains 28,000 more mail-in ballots to process that Baltimore. The more time that people had to learn about the differences between the two of us, the people chose me. Rodriguez, who has been working as an advocate for the woman who confronted Shellenberger, said the reasoning for why prosecutors arent moving forward has been inconsistent. Rodriguez is a former prosecutor in Shellenbergers office and said she would have brought criminal charges against the womans attacker, based on the facts of the case. There is no statute of limitation on rape in the state of Maryland. He said hed hire ethics counsel to both keep people out of trouble and help assistant states attorneys do their best work. Last Updated 12/02/2014 03:18:07 PM. Haynes, 72, of Towson, said he has practiced in circuit courts throughout the state as well as briefed and argued cases before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and the Maryland Court of Appeals. Members of the BCSAO Honors Law Clerk Program are full-time benefitted employees of the BCSAO. 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