MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

LAW OFFICES

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

OFFICE OF COUNTY ATTORNEY

The County Attorney serves as legal advisor to the County Council, the County Executive, and other officers, departments, agencies, boards, and commissions of Montgomery County Government, and is responsible for all legal affairs of the County's government (County Charter, Art. 2, sec. 213). Moreover, the County Attorney handles all civil litigation involving the County, its officers, or employees.

Headed by the County Attorney, the Office of County Attorney works through five divisions: Finance and Procurement; Health and Human Services; Human Resources and Appeals; Public Interest Litigation; and Zoning, Land Use, and Economic Development.

PUBLIC DEFENDER

For indigent defendants in Montgomery County, the District Public Defender provides legal representation, including related necessary services and facilities. The District Public Defender assures effective assistance and continuity of counsel to indigent accused taken into custody and indigent defendants in criminal and juvenile proceedings before Maryland courts (Code Criminal Procedure Article, secs. 16-201 through 16-213).

STATE'S ATTORNEY

Starting in 1818, duties of the State's Attorney were first carried out by the District Attorney (Chapter 146, Acts of 1817 December session). Appointed by the Governor in each judicial district, the District Attorney prosecuted cases on behalf of the State. By 1821, the District Attorney was renamed the Deputy Attorney and was appointed by the Attorney General (Chapter 126, Acts of 1821 December session). The office of State's Attorney was first authorized in 1851 (Constitution of 1851, Art. V, secs. 1-5).

The State's Attorney prosecutes and defends, on the part of the State, all criminal cases in Montgomery County in which the State may be interested (Code Criminal Procedure Article, secs. 15-101 through 15-109, 15-416; County Code, secs. 2-123A through 2-128).

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