Gansler

In office barely a month, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has ousted the state's independent monitor of juvenile detention programs and replaced her with a politically connected lawyer from his home county of Montgomery. The new monitor is Marlana R. Valdez of Takoma Park, a former family law professor who was campaign manager for freshman Sen. Jamin B. Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat who is a close ally of Gansler's. Created in 2002, the independent monitor's office is the state's watchdog over programs for juvenile offenders, and in recent years it has released scathing reports about poor conditions in youth detention facilities.

Many of the electronic gambling machines that have proliferated across the state in recent months are illegal, according to an opinion released by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's office Monday. Some, however, are still operating within the law set by a 2001 ruling from the state's highest court, Gansler wrote in a letter to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. And while a bill moving quickly through that chamber would outlaw another class of the machines, it would still exempt thousands that critics say make illegal payouts in Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee took aim at the state's attorney general Thursday, accusing him at a hearing of playing politics with a highly anticipated opinion on whether Maryland law will honor same-sex marriage certificates issued by other states. The opinion was requested in May, and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has not yet ruled, prompting Del. Don H. Dwyer of Anne Arundel County to say the lengthy deliberation process has "become political in nature." Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. of Southern Maryland accused Gansler of "bastardizing" the process by "coming in the back door" to settle an issue that the delegate believes the General Assembly ought to debate.

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is exploring whether same-sex marriages performed in other states can be recognized in Maryland, a move that could open an avenue for legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples who have been rebuffed by the courts and legislature here. The exercise puts Gansler - a Democrat and vocal proponent of same-sex marriage - in a difficult position. Maryland law clearly defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but the state also adheres to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere.

The state's highest court ordered a reprimand yesterday of Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler for remarks he made to the media that the Attorney Grievance Commission argued could have tainted cases. The decision marks the first time the Maryland Court of Appeals has disciplined an attorney for breaching the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. In a unanimous opinion, the court stated that between 2000 and 2001, Gansler violated those rules when he "spoke outside of the court about matters that had substantial likelihood of depriving several criminal defendants of fair trials."

Two weeks after his election victory, Maryland Attorney General-elect Douglas F. Gansler named two people to top positions in the office yesterday. Katherine Winfree, a former federal prosecutor who has been Gansler's chief deputy since 1999, will be the senior deputy attorney general. John B. Howard Jr., Gansler's roommate at the University of Virginia law school and a litigator at Venable LLP in Baltimore, will serve as a deputy. The law allows for two deputies, and a second has yet to be chosen.

An Anne Arundel County circuit judge said yesterday he will quickly decide whether Democrat Douglas F. Gansler has enough experience practicing law in Maryland to qualify as a candidate for attorney general. Judge Ronald A. Silkworth held a hearing yesterday on a lawsuit filed last week by a college student from Bowie contending Gansler has practiced in Maryland only the eight years he has been Montgomery County state's attorney - two years short of the 10 required. Gansler argues he is qualified because has been a member of the Maryland bar for 17 years.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler pledged yesterday to do battle with those who spoil the environment, signaling a more aggressive approach for an agency led for two decades by the steady J. Joseph Curran Jr. "We're going to wage an all-out assault on those who pollute our air and our water and pollute the Chesapeake Bay," Gansler said during his midday swearing-in ceremony in the state Senate chamber in Annapolis. Gansler said in an interview that he plans to bring an activist bent to the state's top legal job, modeling himself after former New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, whose campaign against corporate corruption propelled him into the governor's office.

First of three profiles of Democratic candidates for attorney general To say he's running for attorney general is an understatement. Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, 43, started laying the groundwork for state office five years ago, before his first term as a county prosecutor had ended. While incumbent J. Joseph Curran Jr. kept many potential candidates at bay as he contemplated seeking a sixth term, Gansler, a Democrat, raised money and traveled the state to make himself known.

Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler and former Baltimore State's Attorney Stuart O. Simms highlighted differences and sharpened campaign themes last night in their first encounter since the Maryland Court of Appeals made the Democratic race for attorney general a two-person contest. In a half-hour debate broadcast live on Maryland Public Television, Simms, a Cabinet official in the administration of former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, offered his clearest vision to date of how he would approach the attorney general's job. Simms said he wanted to be a "moral guide ... to help the most vulnerable in our society."