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State's Attorney seeks county funding to replace lost grants and expand evidence‑review tools

Montgomery County Council Budget Committee · April 13, 2026

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Summary

State's Attorney John McCarthy told the committee that the office needs $314,000 to replace four grant-funded evidence-review positions and $225,000 for prosecutor-access licenses after procurement rules prevented piggybacking on the police contract; he said both items are necessary to reduce discovery delays and improve disclosure.

State's Attorney John McCarthy and council staff told the budget committee that increases in digital evidence and uncertainty about federal grant continuation require county support for evidence‑review capacity and prosecutor access to digital-evidence tools.

Council staff said the executive is recommending about $1.3 million in additional funding for the state's attorney's office, including $314,000 to replace positions previously funded by a Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant and $225,000 for enhanced prosecutor licenses to access digital evidence repositories and redaction/transcription tools.

McCarthy said the office currently has 11 legal assistants in its evidence-review unit, four of whom were grant‑funded; he described the positions as essential to reviewing large volumes of body‑worn camera and other digital evidence and to identifying and disclosing exculpatory material. He noted that procurement rules prevented the office from piggybacking on the police department's Axon contract and said an independent procurement would be needed to expand licenses.

Council members agreed the tools are necessary but raised the possibility of enterprise procurement to avoid duplicative RFPs and to capture economies of scale; McCarthy said the office had tried to piggyback but was told it could not. Staff noted that the state's attorney's request to replace lost grant funding should be asterisked to indicate filled positions when brought to full council.

The committee advanced the packet with the asterisk notation for grant‑replacement positions and with staff recommendations to consider procurement coordination at the county level.