The Sun asked the candidates for Baltimore state's attorney to complete a questionnaire as part of our endorsement process. The questions were derived from suggestions made by readers. After reading the responses, please let us know which candidate you support and why, either on the editorial board's blog, Second Opinion, or by sending an e-mail to talkback@baltimoresun.com. A selection of readers' comments will appear alongside our endorsement.
Democrat Gregg Bernstein's responses to The Sun's questionnaire:
1. Summarize your education and professional experience. How does your background fit the current needs of the state's attorney's office?
As a former federal prosecutor and a partner in a major law firm, I have the trial and management experience needed to make Baltimore a safer city. I have nearly 30 years of trial experience and have been recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in Maryland. I served as a federal prosecutor in Baltimore's U.S. Attorney's Office where I investigated and successfully prosecuted a wide range of violent crimes, working closely with law enforcement to build strong cases and convict violent offenders. Through this experience, I know first-hand how important it is for police and prosecutors to work together to get violent criminals off our streets. Currently, I am a partner in the Baltimore office of a national law firm, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. I am a life-long resident of Baltimore and a graduate of the University of Maryland and University of Maryland Law School.
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office is akin to a large law firm and should be run as such by a seasoned trial lawyer. As a former federal prosecutor, a founding partner of my own law firm, and now a partner at a major law firm, I have the trial and management experience needed to run the State's Attorney's office and make Baltimore safer. I can use this experience to improve technology in the office and provide much-needed training to the assistant state's attorneys so that they can make more effective presentations in court, and as a result, improve the office's conviction rates, particularly for violent crime.
2. What additional efforts can the state's attorney's office undertake to protect witnesses who feel threatened?
It is critical to protect victims and witnesses who feel threatened. The state's attorney's office must step up its efforts to protect witnesses. As state's attorney, I will work with law enforcement to identify and offer protection proactively to victims and witnesses at high risk of intimidation. I will not wait for witnesses to ask for protection but will do everything I can to ensure that witnesses at high risk are offered meaningful protection. I will coordinate witness protection with my counterpart prosecutors in Maryland's other jurisdictions in order to set up safe houses in other cities and counties, and I will explore opportunities to provide permanent housing for witnesses and their families, if necessary.
In addition, I will develop relationships with federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate witness protection in particularly dangerous or extraordinary instances. I also will provide financial assistance to witnesses who have the opportunity to relocate with relatives in other cities and states. To implement this plan, I will allocate existing witness protection resources more strategically and aggressively pursue federal grant money.
3. What strategies can the office employ to move cases forward when witnesses or victims are reluctant to testify?
I would adopt pro-prosecution policies. A pro-prosecution policy makes clear to the perpetrator that the prosecutor, not the victim, is responsible for decisions regarding criminal prosecution. While victim input is necessary and important, a prosecutor must be the one who decides whether to prosecute a case. Successful prosecutions are based on material evidence. Therefore, it is critical that prosecutors work closely with police to identify and obtain evidence in cases where victims are reluctant to testify. By relying primarily on the evidence collected by police rather than a victim's testimony, the prosecutor may be able to reduce the risk of retaliation by the perpetrator against the victim — and increase the likelihood of successful prosecution.
In particular, I will adopt policies and strategies that preserve witnesses' testimony through recorded statements and grand jury testimony. I also will reduce the number of postponements in serious cases where witnesses or victims may be reluctant to testify in order to ensure their appearance at trial. Finally, as discussed above, I will increase the state's attorney's office's commitment and efforts to provide protection for witnesses and victims who are intimidated.
4. What should the relationship between the state's attorney's office and police department be like?
In order to prosecute and convict violent criminals successfully, the state's attorney's office must have strong, collaborative working relationships with the police department and other law enforcement agencies that gather evidence, investigate crimes and work with witnesses. We must put an end to the blame game and finger-pointing that has been a staple of Mrs. Jessamy's office. One of my priorities as state's attorney will be to build stronger working relationships between prosecutors and police, develop joint training programs and establish procedures by which prosecutors and detectives work together to build the strongest cases for prosecution. At the same time, the state's attorney's office is responsible for investigating and, where necessary, prosecuting those officers who violate the law, and I will not shirk from this responsibility.
5. For Mr. Bernstein: What policies and practices of the state's attorney's office, if any, do you believe need to be maintained? For Mrs. Jessamy: What policies and practices of the state's attorney's office, if any, do you believe need to be changed?
My main goal is to improve the effectiveness of the state's attorney's office in prosecuting and convicting repeat violent offenders. I will be accountable and transparent. I will track and publish conviction rates so the public can see our progress. My first step will be to conduct a full audit of the office's existing resources and programs and obtain outcome data regarding all programs and initiatives. I believe in maintaining and improving upon what works and changing what doesn't work. My decisions will be data- and performance-driven.
6. What can the state's attorney's office do to ensure that the original prosecutor or someone equally familiar with the case is present at violation of probation hearings?
Judges typically schedule multiple violation of probation hearings on the same day, making it difficult for the original prosecutor to be present at the hearing; however, as part of my overall plan to strategically use the office's resources to prosecute violent, repeat offenders, I would work to develop polices that would ensure that the original prosecutor or someone with intimate knowledge of the original case is present for the violation hearing. One way to do this is through more comprehensive use of the state's attorney's office's war room, which originally was designed to track the cases of these repeat offenders who violate their probation; instead, the war room prosecutors only make bail recommendations at the first appearance of the defendants when arrested on a new charge and do not track the case through its conclusion and violation of parole or probation hearing. I believe tracking these cases through their conclusion is necessary to make sure that these violent offenders are successfully prosecuted and they serve their original, suspended sentences. In this way, there will be prosecutors present who understand the importance of advocating for the revocation of probation and jail time when these offenders' cases come before a judge.
7. What can the state's attorney's office do to mitigate the chronic delays and postponements in the Baltimore Circuit Court?
Many delays occur because lawyers are not prepared. This is a disservice to witnesses, the court, the public and public safety. At a minimum, for violent, repeat offenders, I would instruct my assistants to be prepared for trial on the first trial date and inform the court that the state is ready to proceed.
8. According to a 2009 Sun analysis of data from the state's attorney's office, 478 murder cases were adjudicated in Baltimore in 2006-2008. Of those, nearly 40 percent resulted in not guilty verdicts, dropped charges or pleas or convictions on lesser charges. Among cases that went to trial, prosecutors' record of getting murder convictions was about 50-50. What factors contribute to this conviction rate and what can the state's attorney's office do to improve it?
I believe this unacceptably low conviction rate is the result of the state's attorney's office's inability to work in a collaborative relationship with the detectives who investigate these cases, which results in a lack of preparation and ineffective presentations to juries. My goal as state's attorney is to focus the office's resources on its core task: prosecuting and convicting violent criminals in order to make Baltimore a safer city. I will improve Baltimore's conviction rate by: (a) strategically focusing the resources of the state's attorney's office on prosecuting and convicting Baltimore's most violent and dangerous criminals; (b) building stronger partnerships with police, the mayor and state and federal law enforcement so we can work together to get violent criminals off our streets; (c) working with victims and witnesses to ensure their testimony and providing them with protection, where needed; (d) improving training and technology so that prosecutors who work in the state's attorney's office have the tools they need to do their job effectively; and (e) being personally involved in prosecuting cases in the courtroom.
9. Does the state's attorney's office need additional resources? If so, what are the needs and how would the money be spent?
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office has a $32 million annual budget. This budget has increased more than 70 percent in the past decade. It is equal to the budget for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, which serves a city double Baltimore's size and had more than 300 murders last year. As state's attorney, I will conduct a comprehensive audit of the budget, office structure and salaries. Through this audit process, I will work with my team to determine what changes should be made to devote our resources to prosecuting violent criminals and improving efficiencies and programs in the office. I also will apply for available federal funding to provide additional funding to accomplish these goals.