On Thursday, September 23rd, Delegate Erek Barron was voted out of the United States Senate’s Judiciary Committee, paving the way for his appointment as U.S. Attorney for Maryland. His nomination will be sent to the Senate floor for a final confirmation vote.
Delegate Barron, who represents District 24 (Prince George’s County) in the Maryland House of Delegates, has had a strong influence on the General Assembly’s criminal justice agenda. In recent years, he has been the lead sponsor on bills concerning sentencing reform, medication-assisted treatment in jails, postconviction review, court costs imposed on children, and expungement. As U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Delegate Barron will be charged with working with local law enforcement and have considerable prosecutorial discretion, further extending the delegate’s influence over criminal justice matters in the region.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Delegate Barron would be “the first Black person to hold the [U.S. Attorney for Maryland] post.” It added, “Barron has been a prosecutor and worked as Biden’s counsel and policy adviser when the president was a U.S. Senator.”
In a joint statement, U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen said the following:
“Maryland needs a U.S. Attorney with integrity, independence, and a passion for delivering equal justice under the law to Marylanders. Erek Barron’s background as both a prosecutor and state legislator committed to criminal justice reform measures makes him uniquely qualified for this position. We are pleased that the Judiciary Committee favorably recommended Erek to be the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and that his nomination will now to move consideration by the full Senate,” the Senators said. “We will continue working towards his swift approval by the full Senate so he can take charge of our federal efforts to improve public safety and deliver justice for all Marylanders.”
Several notable Maryland lawmakers also chimed in on Barron’s nomination:
