BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden has nominated Prince George’s County Del. Erek Barron to become the next U.S. Attorney for Maryland — who would be the first Black person to hold the post, and the first Democrat in 20 years, if confirmed.
Barron, 47, a defense attorney, has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2015. Before that he worked stints as a federal prosecutor and as an assistant state’s attorney in Prince George’s and Baltimore. The Bowie resident has a direct tie to Biden: he worked as his counsel and policy adviser when Biden was a U.S. Senator from 2007 to 2009, and on the Obama-Biden transition team’s justice and civil rights review team.
Barron and seven other U.S. Attorney nominees announced Monday are the first to be put forward by the White House since Biden took over. Six are Black; three are women.
It’s been long known in political and legal circles that Barron was the likely pick, but Maryland’s congressional delegation has been tight-lipped about the process. Barron declined to comment on the announcement, but said he will continue to serve in the legislature until confirmed.
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Barron “will bring considerable legal and legislative experience to the post, and we look forward to working with him on a number of critical issues, including violent crime and criminal justice reform.”
Del. Jazz Lewis, a Prince George’s Democrat who serves with Barron, said he would be a “phenomenal” U.S. Attorney for Maryland.
“His history as a prosecutor, both at the state level and federal, gives him deep knowledge about what is needed for the role, and his work to reform the criminal justice system in the legislature shows he is aware of what we need in a federal partner,” Lewis said.
Howard County State’s Attorney Richard Gibson, who worked as a prosecutor with Barron, said he was a “gifted prosecutor” who is “fair and balanced.” “He’s certainly sensitive to the issues of social justice and changes going on right now in the country,” Gibson said.
Because President Barack Obama kept Rod Rosenstein — a Republican appointee of George W. Bush — in place, there’s hasn’t been a Democratic U.S. Attorney for Maryland confirmed by the Senate since Lynne A. Battaglia left the post in 2001. Three Democrats have held the title as acting U.S. attorneys during that time frame, including current acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner.
There has never been a Black top federal prosecutor in Maryland.
In 2015 and 2016, Barron served as a member of the Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council and co-authored the Justice Reinvestment Act, bipartisan legislation that overhauled Maryland’s sentencing and corrections practices.
Sen. Christopher R. West, a Baltimore County Republican, said he and Barron were “partners in crime” — working together for seven years on crime-related bills. “He’s a person of great intelligence and judgment. He’s not a ‘limelighter’ — he listens really well,” West said.
House Speaker Del. Adrienne Jones said Barron’s “work with both Democrats and Republicans on the Justice Reinvestment Act helped Maryland become a national leader on bipartisan corrections and sentencing reform to reinvest in smarter public safety strategies.”
“While he is the first Black U.S. Attorney for Maryland, he also brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to represent and protect the people of our state,” Jones said.
Barron was a prosecutor in Prince George’s County from 2001 to 2004, and in Baltimore from 2004 to 2006. In Baltimore, he worked in a unit that handled gun cases. As a defense attorney, Barron helped get a new trial for a Delaware man on death row in that state. He subsequently won a new trial and was acquitted.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Barron could be in an uncomfortable position of overseeing the federal investigation of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her husband, Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, both Democrats.
The Mosbys have preemptively alleged that the investigation is politically and racially motivated because she is a progressive and challenging the status quo.
Barron and Marilyn Mosby have worked together on or championed bills in Annapolis. Barron partnered with Mosby to introduce a bill granting more authority to prosecutors to throw out convictions. The bill came in the fallout of the Gun Trace Task Force case, as Mosby said judges were in some cases blocking prosecutors’ attempts to undo convictions they considered tainted.
Mosby also supported Barron’s legislation to lower the standard on hearsay in witness intimidation cases.
And Barron also served in the House of Delegates with Nick Mosby from 2017 to 2020.
But they hail from different power centers of the state. Neither has contributed to the other’s political campaigns.
Lenzner, has served as acting U.S. attorney since Trump administration appointee Robert K. Hur stepped down earlier this year. Hur was the first Asian American to hold the post, and Lenzner worked as his first assistant.
U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen praised Lenzner for his “outstanding” work.
“Jonathan should be proud of his tireless work to improve the quality of life of Marylanders and uphold the rule of law, consistent with the highest ideals of the U.S. Department of Justice,” the senators said in a statement.
Also nominated with Barron was Zachary A. Myers, who has been an assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland since 2014. Myers is the Biden administration’s choice to become U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
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(Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker contributed to this report.)
