McCrone speaks out on homicides, convictions

Q There were four homicides in Howard County last year. In just the first six months of 2007, Howard has matched last year’s total. Have you noticed an increased workload in your office this year?

A The numbers of cases and the types of cases are not significantly different in volume and in degree from years past.

When you stop and think about it, Howard County, in comparison to other nearby jurisdictions, has such a relatively safe community.

We’ve got four homicides this year. We normally range between three and seven.

Q Do you have trouble competing for talent with larger jurisdictions, such as Washington and Baltimore, where the courts are gorged with high-profile cases?

A One of the nice things about practicing law in Howard County is that we have the good fortune to work in a system that is not overwhelmed, and the process just works more appropriately.

We have police officers who are extremely well-trained and talented and dedicated, and we’ve got a uniformity of talent among our prosecutors.

I’m biased, but I feel confident in telling you that we have had such good fortune in the talent and work ethic of the assistant state’s attorneys.

I can go down the hallway and knock on anyone’s door and be confident the case I assign is going to be handled professionally and thoroughly.

Q A recent report by the Maryland Judiciary found that you dropped more than 40 percent of the cases that reached Howard County District Court in 2005 and 2006.

You’ve countered that your conviction rate — in the mid-90th percentile — is a better gauge of your office’s performance.

How do you reconcile the two?

A The more I think about those statistics, the nolle prosequi [dismissed case] numbers are almost useless, because a large percentage of those are nolle prosequi as a result of a guilty plea for another count.

If you look at it from a statistical view, if it’s one guilty and five [dismissed charges], it’s still a conviction.

Those stats are misleading to the extent that they don’t make that distinction.

Q What goes into deciding how aggressively to pursue a case?

A I think what we strive for is justice and doing what’s right and what’s fair.

If someone is a particularly problematic criminal in the community, we are very aggressive and can be very relentless.

On the other hand, if it’s your first offense ... obviously we’re not going to pursue incarceration.

For the first-time offender, justice really calls for a certain amount of charity.

On the most egregious crimes, we’re very aggressive, and we’ve been very successful.

Q What did you think of former Durham, N.C., District Attorney Mike Nifong’s handling of the Duke lacrosse players’ case?

A I was appalled by how he handled that case.

I though it was a disgrace and a terrible reflection on prosecutors.

He did more harm to prosecutors across the country than people fully appreciate at this time.

I thought it was train wreck.

You can’t put the interest of getting elected ahead of doing justice.

Q And do you have political aspirations of your own?

A I’m honored to serve as Howard County’s state’s attorney, and I’m not aspiring to any other political office.

Q Will you continue practicing law, then?

A Well, sure. That’s what I’m trained to do.