|
Ref. : Local Newsbriefs
Ref. : Letters to the editor
03.05 Open Letter to Congressman Bart Stupak
Video National Health Care Systems In Other Countries
03.18 Pressure Drop: Brave Sir Dennis Ran Away
03.12 Slick Barry and the $100-Billion Medicaid/Medicare Fraud Claim
03.09 Kill Bill: Death to Obamacare!
03.09 Obama’s Rhetoric May Be “Fiery,” But His Health Care Reform Is Still Lukewarm
03.17 CNN Scrapes Bottom of Right-Wing Barrel With Erickson Hire
03.16 WPost Blames Obama First, on Israel
03.16 Letter to the New York Times' Editor: Stovepiping To Persia
03.12 Cud and Complicity: Burying the Alternatives to Empire's Dominion
03.11 NYT and the ACORN Hoax
03.05 Sorry, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq
03.03 It's Snow News
03.03 The Woeful Washington Post
Ref. : The Daily Howler
02.26 America's Supremes: Court Over Constitution
03.11 Power Rangers: Policing the System With the "Fightin' Progressives"
03.09 Thinking About Countings
03.07 Unnatural Acts: Breaking the Fever of Militarism
02.25 Future Shock: A Better World Beyond the Imperium
03.18 The Lawfare Project's Anti-Democratic Agenda
03.16 America's Secret Prisons
03.13 Palestinian Dispossession in East Jerusalem
03.12 Israeli Settlement Expansions Continue
03.11 Brutalizing Palestinian Children
03.08 The Russell Tribunal on Palestine: Barcelona Session
03.05 Targeting Israeli Apartheid
03.01 America's Permanent War Agenda
02.25 Global Sweatshop Wage Slavery
03.14 The Crisis in America's Telecommunications Network
03.09 The Business of Water: Privatizing An Essential Resource
03.05 Is the Recovery Real?
03.04 IMF-Style Austerity Measures come to America: What “Fiscal Responsibility” Means To You
03.04 Barry C. Lynn's "Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and Economics of Destruction"
03.01 Thinking About Fees
03.15 Peace Process Hypocrisy: Stillborn from Inception
03.03 Muslim Disunity
03.02 Funding Israeli Militarism, Belligerence and Occupation
02.26 Iran Captures a 'Good' Terrorist
INTERVIEW:
Why Does Stuart Simms Want to Be Maryland’s Attorney General?
Why does Simms—a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School who could continue to command a high income as a litigator—want to be Attorney General? “It’s the most interesting and complex public legal job in the state,” he explained during a recent interview. “It involves both policy and law. I see it as an opportunity to plant footprints, and take aggressive steps in a wide variety of areas.”
According to Article V, Section 3 of the Maryland Constitution, the incumbent is expected to:
1. Prosecute and defend on the part of the State all cases pending in the Appellate Courts of the State, in the Supreme Court of the United States or the inferior Federal Courts, by or against the State, or in which the State may be interested, except those criminal appeals otherwise prescribed by the General Assembly.
2. Investigate, commence, and prosecute or defend any civil or criminal suit or action or category of such suits or actions in any of the Federal Courts or in any Court of this State, or before administrative agencies and quasi legislative bodies, on the part of the State or in which the State may be interested, which the General Assembly by law or joint resolution, or the Governor, shall have directed or shall direct to be investigated, commenced and prosecuted or defended.
3. When required by the General Assembly by law or joint resolution, or by the Governor, aid any State's Attorney or other authorized prosecuting officer in investigating, commencing, and prosecuting any criminal suit or action or category of such suits or actions brought by the State in any Court of this State.
4. Give his opinion in writing whenever required by the General Assembly or either branch thereof, the Governor, the Comptroller, the Treasurer or any State's Attorney on any legal matter or subject.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is divided into several focused divisions: antitrust, civil litigation, consumer protection, contract litigation, correctional litigation, courts and judicial affairs, criminal appeals, criminal investigations, educational affairs, and securities. There are also specialized units devoted to environmental crimes, family violence, health policy, and Medicaid fraud. The Opinions and Advice unit “gives legal opinions as to the construction or interpretation of the law as it affects various agencies of the State and gives legal opinions to local subdivisions on questions involving substantial statewide interest.”
There’s also a People's Insurance Counsel Division, which deals with such areas as homeowners and medical professional liability insurance matters that are pending before the Maryland Insurance Commissioner to determine the impact on consumers and to intervene, as deemed necessary, on behalf of consumers, before the Commission or in court.
Simms praised the work of Maryland Attorney General Joe Curran, the incumbent for the past 20 years who is retiring at this end of this term. “He’s done an excellent job of stewardship,” said Simms.
“What you can bring [to the position of Attorney General] is the ability to articulate the perspectives, to get a sound result for the taxpayers," he elaborated. "The office has to be able to retool and prepare to be aggressive on new fronts, as the need arises. Legal precedents have to be balanced against state procedural requirements, and the demonstrated public interests of the state.” To be able to meet the challenges that are sure to come, he said, “you have to hire capable, trustworthy, competent attorneys. You have to have guts and talent, but you can’t do it all yourself.”
Would he strive to emulate the style of New York State’s well-known activist Attorney General Elliott Spitzer? Simms laughed. “Spitzer’s gotten prominence and exposure, but he’s not the most activist [attorney general] in the U.S.,” he said. “I’m not planning to be a potted plant. This is a job for a stand-up person.”
If he were to be elected Attorney General, Simms said his office might get involved in such areas as protections for the elderly and preventing internet fraud. “There will be new challenges of the future,” he said, “and I’m not yet ready to predict what can be done.”
Another factor more under the control of an Attorney General, regardless of budget, is the ability to form partnerships with other branches of government to get things done. As an example of this collaboration, Simms cited former Maryland Attorney General Steve Sachs’ role in assessing the state’s penal system. “There are wider issues than just prosecution and prison management,” Simms said. “The analysis of the Attorney General’s office can be used as a basis for General Assembly policy decisions.”
The primary election on Tuesday, September 12 will pit Simms against three other Democratic candidates: Doug Gansler (D), Montgomery County State’s Attorney; J. Wyndal Gordon (D), an attorney; and Tom Perez (D), an attorney who is a Montgomery County Councilman. Whoever wins will face off against Scott Rolle (R), Frederick County’s State’s Attorney, in the general election on Tuesday, November 7.
Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
This story was published on August 22, 2006.
