The Future for Robert A. Rohrbaugh
With the sentencing of Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon now concluded, the citizens of Maryland should offer a sincere expression of gratitude to State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh.
Over the past three years, Rohrbaugh has been demonized and vilified. Baltimore politicians characterized his investigations as trivial and accused him of pursuing a political vendetta. Loud cries were raised for him to drop his Baltimore City corruption cases leaving the distinct impression that he should be removed from the State Prosecutor’s position.
In a rare but thoughtful move, Judge Dennis Sweeney felt compelled to issue a statement at the sentencing hearing for Mayor Dixon. Every citizen should read what the judge who presided over the case believes with regard to the facts versus the castigation that the prosecutor and the jury received during and after the trial (for the complete statement, click here)
In response to the lingering notion that Sheila Dixon did nothing wrong, Sweeney states that from “what I saw at trial and in the motions before the court, the cases against Ms. Dixon were strong if not indeed overwhelming.” On the counts of perjury not tried because of the plea agreement, Sweeney said, “it is likewise my view that had that case gone to trial conviction on one or more counts would have been a virtual certainty.”
With regard to the public impression that Rohrbaugh improperly pursued the case or that there was misconduct by the jury, Sweeney exclaims, “[T]hroughout these cases, Ms. Dixon has claimed that the prosecution here was not well grounded in law and evidence and that her problems were the fault of the media, or of a politically motivated or incompetent prosecutor, or after conviction in the gift card case, a confused and misbehaving jury. These stratagems are ones frequently employed in high profile cases by experienced defense counsel particularly when the facts they face are difficult to overcome.”
Sweeney was especially concerned when the affidavit by the City Solicitor of Baltimore expressed a view that developers such as Ronald Lipscomb were not subject to the city ethics laws and that “this official position of the City was not met to my knowledge by any dissent or outrage by other elected City officials at the time it became public.”
Acknowledging that there is a “new and welcomed dedication to higher ethical standards” expressed by the incoming administration, Sweeney implores the new city leadership to adhere to these standards or else “the City will be doomed to repeat the cycle of petty and tawdry corruption and entitlement.”
Which brings us to the future of State Prosecutor Rohrbaugh. The office of State Prosecutor is subject to appointment to a six-year term by the Governor. There is also a State Prosecutor Selection and Disabilities Commission appointed by the Governor that evaluates the work of the incumbent State Prosecutor and makes recommendations to the Governor for reappointment or selection of a new State Prosecutor.
Rohrbaugh’s term ends this year. He has served Maryland well but in doing so has alienated the Baltimore City politicians who are close to Governor Martin O’Malley. If O’Malley plans to make a change in the State Prosecutor, it may be signaled by appointments in the “Green Bag” which will be presented on the Senate floor on Friday, February 12th.