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Office of State Prosecutor expands staff, highlights official'misconduct and election law work
Summary
The Office of the State Prosecutor told legislators it added contractual positions to partner with the U.S. Attorney on violent crime prosecutions and highlighted a new unit focused on official misconduct involving special victims.
The Office of the State Prosecutor told the Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee it is increasing staff and emphasizing two priorities: prosecutions that cross county lines or involve public officials and a new unit for official misconduct and special victims.
Charlton Howard, Maryland state prosecutor, said the office has taken on a range of public integrity cases and recently created an official misconduct and special victims unit. "This unit is designed to ensure that victims are able to report their assaults and find justice," Howard said, adding the unit had its first contested trial and a recent conviction of a local officer.
Department of Legislative Services analyst Jacob Polacco described the fiscal 2026 allowance rising to $4.7 million, driven largely by contract positions funded through reimbursable funds to support a collaboration with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. DLS noted 13 new contractual full'time equivalents, including special assistant U.S. attorneys and paralegals, to investigate and prosecute violent acts, firearms violations and gang activity in the state.
Polacco and Howard both flagged operational reasons for budget movement: OSP moved offices after 25 years and incurred one'time moving and parking costs during fiscal 2025. DLS also noted a decline in the number of closed cases in fiscal 2024 and asked the office to explain the reasons and report conviction rates specific to the new official misconduct unit in future filings.
Howard said the office has been reaching out to inspectors general and agencies to promote early referrals on cases involving public officials or special victims, both to preserve evidence and to avoid retraumatizing victims. He also introduced a new senior assistant state prosecutor for election law who will focus on compliance, training and emerging technology risks such as deepfakes.
Ending: DLS recommended concurrence with the governor's allowance and asked for follow'up data on case closure rates and conviction metrics for the new unit; the committee did not take a recorded vote during the hearing.
