Weathersbee

Occasionally, we are left to wonder whether a case that came sealed in leak-proof Tupperware would be airtight enough for Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee.Mr. Weathersbee faces a difficult fight for re-election this fall, which is largely his own fault. His history of non-aggressiveness makes him a perfect target for challengers who sense the public's thirst for get-tough justice. Inexplicably, he seems oblivious to this. One would think he would be trying to adopt a bolder persona, especially since Republican John Greiber, a tenacious bulldog of a candidate, started yapping at his heels.

Longtime Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee is retiring from the position he's held for 25 years to become a member of the state's Parole Commission. His appointment was announced Wednesday by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Weathersbee, 69, a prosecutor for four decades, said he will “retire” June 11, and start on the commission the next day amid “mixed emotions.” “I've got an opportunity to do something else and stay kind of in the field, so I am going to take it,” said Weathersbee, a Democrat.

Incumbent Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee appears to have won a sixth term in a tight contest, after an absentee ballot count increased his lead Friday over his Republican opponent. "I think we won, yes," Weathersbee said Friday night. The additional ballots widened the Democrat's lead over attorney Eric Grannon, who practices mostly antitrust and business law, to 3 percent of the vote from 2 percent. Late-arriving absentee ballots as well as provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

The words "victims" and "celebration" don't often go hand in hand, but this week the Historic Courtroom of the Circuit Court Building in Annapolis hosted a Victims' Rights Week Celebration honoring residents and criminal justice professionals who work with victims of crime. The Victim-Witness Unit, a department of the county state's attorney's office that works to help victims of all types of crime, organized Wednesday's ceremony and luncheon. The unit has victim-witness specialists based in county courthouses.

After months of name-calling and enough dueling statistics to confuse a mathematician, the state's attorney's race in Anne Arundel County boils down to two qualities: experience and credibility. Incumbent Democrat Frank R. Weathersbee possesses both; Republican John R. Greiber Jr. does not.Think about this: If you are charged with a crime, you want an experienced criminal lawyer to defend you. By the same token, citizens want the person prosecuting criminals to possess some expertise in the field.

The cookie never crumbles the right way for Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee, does it?He's an experienced and credible prosecutor, yet his whole career has been dogged by the perception that he's soft, that he lets the big fish get away more often than a prosecutor ought.He enjoyed a brief respite from his travails after last November's election, when he held onto his job despite being a Democrat in a year when Democrats were as popular as cyanide, and despite a no-holds-barred challenge by an opponent who made him sound as if he were giving criminals keys to the detention center.

The decision by the Anne Arundel County prosecutor to drop murder charges against the suspects in the JoAnne S. Valentine murder set off a flurry of finger-pointing last week. State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee lambasted the public defender's office for trying to embarrass him by not revealing sooner that one of the defendants was in jail when the nightclub owner from Arnold was murdered. Public Defender Alan R. Friedman blamed the police and state's attorney for shoddy detective work.

Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee this week survived a challenge from Republican John Greiber in one of the dirtiest races of the season. We think the voters made the right choice, but Mr. Weathersbee shouldn't consider his win an enthusiastic endorsement of the way he has handled his job. This campaign pointed out that Mr. Weathersbee has his flaws; we hope he will learn from his close victory and set about making changes in his office.Mr. Weathersbee must first try to communicate more effectively with the citizens of the county.

A local police lodge endorsed county state's attorney Frank R. Weathersbee as a payback for pressing no criminal charges against an officer who fatally shot a pregnant woman during a drug raid, Weathersbee's challenger charged yesterday.Republican candidate Timothy D. Murnane said he was told last summer by the vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Anne Arundel Lodge 70, that the group owed Weathersbee an endorsement for his handling of the case involving Thomas G. Tyzack, who shot and killed 26-year-old Crystal Wallace during a raid last October in Severn.

Incumbent Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee appears to have won a sixth term in a tight contest, after an absentee ballot count increased his lead Friday over his Republican opponent. "I think we won, yes," Weathersbee said Friday night. The additional ballots widened the Democrat's lead over attorney Eric Grannon, who practices mostly antitrust and business law, to 3 percent of the vote from 2 percent. Late-arriving absentee ballots as well as provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

Frank R. Weathersbee, Anne Arundel County's longtime chief prosecutor, said he plans to seek a sixth term in office, one that would make him among the longest-tenured state's attorneys in Maryland. The Democrat has not set a timetable for announcing his 2010 candidacy, when he expects to bring out the "Weathersbee for State's Attorney" signs from previous campaigns. Weathersbee, 65, has been a key player in the county's criminal justice system through more than a generation. In addition to specialized investigation and prosecution units, the office has programs to divert criminal cases from court.

The selection of Dario Broccolino as Howard County's permanent state's attorney ends months of uncertainty over who will get the post. Broccolino, a 63-year-old career prosecutor, has served as a deputy in the office since 1999 and became interim state's attorney in December. He said he was "obviously pleased with the selection" by the three Circuit Court judges who last week announced their unanimous choice, but added it's too soon to decide if he will run for a full four-year term in 2010.

After months of speculation, and some political intrigue, longtime deputy Dario Broccolino was announced yesterday as Howard County's new state's attorney. Broccolino's 36-year career in law enforcement, including 17 years as a prosecutor in Baltimore and nine years as deputy state's attorney in Howard, was mentioned by the three circuit judges who unanimously chose him, said Judge Lenore R. Gelfman, who led the selection. Broccolino, 63, took over as interim state's attorney in December when Timothy J. McCrone resigned to accept a Circuit Court judgeship appointment.

The already politically awkward process of picking a new state's attorney for Howard County took a twist when the interim state's attorney applied to be considered for the permanent job, meaning he will square off against a lawyer on his staff who has high-level backing. The shrouded nature of the midterm appointment and the maneuvering of candidates have imparted an air of intrigue to the process in a county that prides itself on transparent government, clean politics and high-minded public service.

Behind-the-scenes political maneuvering over who should be the next Howard County state's attorney is raising concerns in the legal community as three of the county's five Circuit Court judges prepare to vote on the appointment. County Executive Ken Ulman and newly appointed Circuit Judge Timothy J. McCrone, the former state's attorney, support juvenile division head Lara C. Weathersbee for the top prosecutor's job. McCrone told his staff he favors Weathersbee for his old job and urged them to back her, too. Ulman said he has spoken on Weathersbee's behalf to two of the judges who will vote on the choice.

Howard County State's Attorney Timothy J. McCrone is backing 12-year office veteran Lara C. Weathersbee to serve the remaining three years of his term, according to county government sources. Deputy State's Attorney Dario Broccolino is likely to be named interim state's attorney today, after McCrone resigns and is immediately sworn in as a Circuit Court judge, the sources said. The ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. today. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced McCrone's appointment to the Circuit Court on Dec. 3. McCrone told a group of people in his office that he plans to back Weathersbee, a senior assistant state's attorney who heads the juvenile division, as his permanent replacement, and that he would like everyone else to support her, too, the sources said.