Marilyn Mosby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marilyn Mosby
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| 25th State's Attorney of Baltimore | |
| In office January 8, 2015 – January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Gregg Bernstein |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Bates |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Marilyn James
January 22, 1980 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Nick Mosby
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Tuskegee University (BA) Boston College (JD) |
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Marilyn Mosby (née James; born January 22, 1980) is an American politician, and lawyer who served as the State's Attorney for Baltimore from 2015 to 2023. She had gained national attention following the killing of Freddie Gray in 2015, after which she led an investigation into the officers who arrested Gray.
In January 2022, Mosby was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of perjury and making false statements on loan applications. The charges stemmed from allegations that she had withdrawn money from a program designed to help people financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She denied any wrongdoing, and subsequently lost reelection to Ivan Bates. Mosby was convicted on two counts of perjury on November 9, 2023, and remains charged with two counts of making a false statement on a loan application.
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Early life
Born Marilyn James in Massachusetts, she was raised in Dorchester, Boston, by her grandparents. Her mother, Linda Thompson, was 17 when Mosby was born. Her mother and father both served as police officers; her family traces its association with the police for two generations, as her grandfather was one of the first African-American police officers in the state. She attended Dover-Sherborn High School, an hour away from her home, as a result of METCO, the longest-standing school desegregation program in the country. She served in the Student Government Association, and was co-editor of the school newspaper.
Her interest in practicing law was sparked by the murder of her 17-year-old cousin by another 17-year-old outside of her home.
In 2000, when she was a 20-year-old Tuskegee University student, James appeared on the Judge Judy television show as a plaintiff, suing a roommate for damaging her property during summer break. She prevailed in the arbitration, and was awarded $1,700. She graduated magna cum laude from Tuskegee University with a (B.A.) degree; she earned a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 2005.
Career
Mosby served as a law clerk and as Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore from 2005 to 2011. Before that she had held a series of legal internships in Boston while in law school.
State's Attorney for Baltimore City
In 2013, Mosby announced plans to run for State's Attorney for the city of Baltimore. She ran against incumbent Gregg L. Bernstein in the Democratic primary, defeating him with 55 percent of the vote. She faced no Republican opposition in the general election.
Mosby won the general election, receiving 94 percent of the vote, defeating Independent Russell A. Neverdon Sr., who staged a write-in campaign. At the time of her election, Mosby was the youngest top prosecutor in a major US city.
Mosby was sworn into office on January 8, 2015. Soon after her first term in office had begun, Mosby announced restructuring of her office that was inspired by ideas from prosecutors' offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Deputy State's Attorney Janice Bledsoe was named to oversee the new division of "criminal intelligence". Mosby reestablished community liaison positions, which her predecessor had eliminated, to inform residents of developments in cases relevant to their neighborhood. She created the Policy and Legislative Affairs Unit to advocate for legislation to help keep residents safe and prosecute cases efficiently.
Mosby announced on April 12, 2022, that she would run for re-election to a third term. She was defeated by defense attorney Ivan Bates in the Democratic primary on July 19.
Freddie Gray case
In 2015, Mosby charged six police officers, who had arrested detainee Freddie Gray prior to his death caused by injuries sustained in police custody, with a variety of crimes including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. David Jaros, an associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, was reported as saying that Mosby quite possibly overcharged the officers, while noting this is absolutely typical in criminal cases involving defendants who are not police.
Anonymous police department sources were reported by CNN as saying the Baltimore police's investigation did not support some of the charges brought against the officers. According to CNN,
Mosby has good reason to separate her probe from the police. There is widespread community distrust of the police. And many critics say letting police departments investigate themselves is partly why alleged excessive use of force incidents by officers rarely draw serious punishment.
Mosby defended the charges in a statement released through a spokesperson, and condemned the release of information as unethical.
In a May 4, 2015, interview on Fox News, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said that he believes Mosby overcharged the officers in an attempt to satisfy protesters and prevent further disturbances. Former Baltimore Prosecutor Page Croyder wrote an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun in which she described Mosby's charges as reflecting "either incompetence or an unethical recklessness". Croyder said that Mosby circumvented normal procedures "to step into the national limelight", and that she "pandered to the public", creating an expectation of a conviction.
On May 21, a grand jury indicted the officers on most of the original charges filed by Mosby, with the exception of the charges of illegal imprisonment and false arrest, and added charges of reckless endangerment to all the officers involved. In May 2015, Mosby appeared onstage at concert with the musician Prince, after which she was criticized for using the Freddie Gray incident for personal and political gain. The Baltimore Sun reported that Mosby received $12,000 in free travel to speak at events around the nation after the officers were charged.
When asked to respond to the allegation from police that she does not support the police, Mosby called the notion 'absurd', citing her family's history of working in law enforcement. Mosby was criticized for requesting the increased police presence, in the same neighborhood where Gray was arrested, just weeks prior to the incident.
William Porter was the first officer tried; this resulted in a hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial in December 2015. The Baltimore Sun reported that Porter was within one vote of an acquittal on the most serious charge against him.
The second trial of officers ended on May 11, 2016, when Officer Edward Nero was acquitted on all charges. His acquittal resulted in increased criticism of Mosby for having moved too quickly in charging the officers.
The third trial ended on June 23, 2016, and Officer Goodson was acquitted on all counts. George Washington University Law School professor John F. Banzhaf III filed a complaint with the Maryland's Attorney Grievance Commission against Mosby, saying she did not have probable cause to charge six officers in the killing of Freddie Gray, and also that she repeatedly withheld evidence from the officers' defense attorneys.
Five of the six police officers charged by Mosby sued her for malicious prosecution, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the lawsuit on the grounds that Mosby had immunity from such charges in May 2018, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied the officers' appeal in November 2018.
Community outreach
Mosby started initiatives to engage the Baltimore community, including:
- Junior State's Attorney – Launched in the summer of 2015, the program introduces up to 30 promising middle school students each summer to careers in the criminal justice field.
- Community Day in Court – In an effort to rebuild trust and faith in the criminal justice system, Mosby began holding quarterly Community Days in Court, bringing the public and law enforcement quarterly together to discuss issues plaguing the city.
Complaint against media
In May 2021, Mosby's office filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Baltimore television station WBFF, which had been critical of Mosby, alleging the station's coverage of her office was "blatantly slanted, dishonest, misleading, racist, and extremely dangerous". The complaint also stated that "We welcome being held accountable, and we support First Amendment freedom of speech." WBFF responded that its journalism was in the public interest, and "While we understand that it's not always popular with the individuals and institutions upon which we are shining a light, we stand by our reporting."
FCC commissioner Brendan Carr characterized Mosby's complaint as, "a chilling and direct attack on free speech and journalistic freedom".
Federal indictment and conviction
On January 13, 2022, Mosby was indicted by a federal grand jury on a perjury charge alleging she falsely claimed COVID-19-related financial hardship in requesting one-time withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000 of her deferred compensation funds under the CARES Act, which describes specific criteria for qualifying withdrawals, such as a reduction of income due to a COVID-related layoff or due to quarantining, whereas she reportedly had continued to draw her full salary throughout the period, and her salary had actually increased. She additionally was accused of making false statements in mortgage applications for her Florida home and condo by failing to disclose her federal tax liabilities. There are four counts in the indictment.
On February 4, 2022, Mosby pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her trial was scheduled to begin in March of 2023, but in January, her defense attorneys were permitted to withdraw from the case after being accused of violating court rules, which resulted in further delay. She has been declared indigent, and a public defender has been assigned to represent her.
Mosby's perjury trial resulted in conviction on both counts on November 9, 2023. She faces five years in federal prison on each count at sentencing.
The charges in the case involving alleged lying on her mortgage applications for two vacation homes in Florida each carry a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.
Personal life
In 2005 James married Nick Mosby, the current President of the Baltimore City Council. They have two daughters. They live in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. She has used Mosby as her name professionally since then.
On July 21, 2023, the Mosbys filed for divorce.
