Commentary: Kramer vs... Policing the police

With the resignation of State Police Superintendent Edward Norris, a new man has assumed the role of Maryland's top law enforcement officer. And, unlike Norris, he doesn't answer to the governor.

Maryland's new top cop is not a state employee and wouldn't even think of taking a state paycheck. Though Norris moved to Maryland on a promise to rid [the Baltimore City Police] Department of any corrupt police officers we found, U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio has assumed this role by ridding the state of Norris.

Appointed by the President of the United States to enforce federal laws, DiBiagio has expanded his job description to prosecute a state official for misconduct in a state job. Straining to characterize Norris' misuse of private police funds as a federal crime, DiBiagio claims the power to prosecute Norris under an anti-corruption statute that is now under attack as an unconstitutional invasion of states' rights.

In a case now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices are reviewing the feds' power to prosecute crimes that have nothing to do with the federal government or federal funds. Attacking federal prosecutors for invading the province of state officials, one appeals judge observed that, by inserting itself into a domain traditionally reserved for state and local prosecutions, the federal government treats state governments ... as untrustworthy organs incapable of policing their own.

With so many fine prosecutors on the state's payroll, why must a federal prosecutor delve into the affairs of a state official? Maybe our state and local officials have proven themselves incapable of policing their own.

Rather than prosecute Norris, the state of Maryland gave him a promotion. When concerns first arose on the commissioner's misuse of funds, Mayor Martin O'Malley looked the other way. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, according to O'Malley. Norris has great strengths in saving lives and preventing crime ... but he is not as strong as an accountant. Even as it became apparent that Norris' weaknesses may have been more than mathematical, Gov. Bob Ehrlich cited his strengths in promoting him to the top job on the Maryland State Police force.

As state officials looked to Norris' strengths, DiBiagio investigated his weaknesses and found more than his arithmetic to be lacking. If a police commissioner repeatedly lies, cheats and steals and we look the other way, what message does that send to law enforcement officers on the street as they face opportunities of corruption every day?

This is a good question in a state that has seen more than its share of public corruption.

While Maryland created the position of State Prosecutor in the wake of Watergate to prosecute corrupt state officials, state officials have given this office little funding or power. State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli has repeatedly lobbied legislators and governors for a larger budget, subpoena power and other crime- fighting tools. His requests have fallen on the deaf ears of officials who may fear that, someday, they too may become the subject of his probes.

After nearly 20 years on the job, this concerned prosecutor admits that his three-lawyer office simply lacks the manpower to undertake such monumental investigations. Unwilling to speculate on the reasons elected officials have failed to give him greater resources, Montanarelli acknowledges that there's some reluctance to have a strong independent prosecutor. To public officials with something to hide, an independent prosecutor can be a very dangerous person.

While Montanarelli applauds the efforts of the U.S. Attorney's office, we shouldn't need the resources of a federal prosecutor to do the state's job. Even where our top cop lets us down, our state must prove itself capable of policing its own.

Irwin R. Kramer is a trial lawyer and managing partner of Kramer & Connolly, an AV rated litigation firm representing businesses and individuals throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. A former professor of evidence and trial procedure, Kramer offers crash courses on a variety of legal subjects at www.KramersLaw.com. ? 2003 by Irwin R. Kramer. All rights reserved.

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