| State's Attorney
Per Dan Friedman, "State's Attorneys first appeared in the Maryland Constitution of 1851 but, at that time, they served as a replacement for the defunct office of the Attorney General. It was not until the constitution of 1864 that they assumed their modern prosecutorial role." (Friedman, 192)
pp. 186-95 of Dan Friedman, The Maryland State Constitution (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006).
"One state's at-
torney was to be elected by popular vote in each county
and in the city of Baltimore. The duties of the state's at-
torneys were defined as being the same as that of attorney-
general and his deputies, whom they superseded. The
term of office was fixed at four years. The salary was to
be paid in fees." (James Warner Harry. The Maryland Constitution of 1851, http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000631/html/am631--77.html)
Constitutions:
1851 Constitution Art. V
1864 Constitution Art. V Sec. 7
1864 Constitution Art. V, Sec. 7 as published by Edward Otis Hinkley
1867 Constitution Art. V Secs. 7-12
Current Constitution Art. V Secs. 7-12
Constitutional comparison table from 1967 Constitutional Revision Study Documents
Laws:
1817 Md. Laws ch. 146 - An act providing for the appointment of an Attorney General, and of District Attorneys, in the several Judicial Districts of this State, and for Baltimore City Court.
1819 ch. 37 - A Further Supplement to an act, entitled, An act providing for the appointment of an Attorney General, and of District Attornies, in the several Judicial Districts of this State, and for Baltimore City Court.
1821 ch. 126 - An act providing for the appointment of an Attorney General.
Section 6 repealed the 1817 and 1819 Acts.
District Attorneys appointed under the 1817 and 1819 laws:
Source: GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL (Commission Record) 1777-1827, Liber TAS 1 ff. 485-486, MdHR 1347, MSA S 1080-7.
1st District
1. Raphael Neale, appointed 10 February 1818; resigned in October 1818 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 1819 to March 1825. (Source: Marylanders Who Served the Nation)
2. Gerard N. Causin, appointed 11 October 1818
2nd District
Alexander Hands, appointed 10 February 1818
3rd District
Addison Ridout, appointed 10 February 1818 (Born 1/16/1795; Died Aug. 1826. Son of Samuel (a lawyer) and Mary Grafton (Addision) Ridout. Died unmarried. Source: McIntire, Robert H. Annapolis Maryland Families Volume II p. 464. Per Historical List, represented Annapolis in the House of Delegates in 1825.)
4th District
Josiah Bayly, appointed 10 February 1818. Served as a deputy to Roger B. Taney prior to appointment as Attorney General in 1831. Also served in the House of Delegates.
5th District
1. Franklin Anderson, appointed 10 February 1818; resigned
2. Roger Perry, appointed 1 November 1819 (Was from Allegany County. "Major Perry was the oldest member of the Bar, and was considered by the Court and his brother members a sound lawyer, a discreet and able counsellor, an excellent advocate, and above all 'an honest man - the noblest work of God.' At an earlier day, Major Perry was the State's Attorney for the Judicial District composed of Allegany, Washington and Frederick counties. His practice at home, and the large business in which he was engaged, induced him to resign that office, after performing its important duties for some years." (Source: Thomas, James W. and Judge T.J.C. Williams. History of Allegany County Maryland. (Baltimore: Regional Publishing Company, 1969) 141.)
6th District
1. Samuel Livermore, appointed 10 February 1818; resigned. Author of works on agents and principals which are still cited today.
2. Henry Maynadier Murray, appointed 18 January 1819 (As a District Attorney he appeared before the Maryland Court of Appeals in State v. Buchanan, 5 H&J 317 (1821). See Six Significant Cases packet.)
City of Baltimore
Luther Martin, appointed 10 February 1818 (died in 1826) |
