As a “fun fact” on the website of the Macks Jewish Connection Network, the profile for board officer Sarah R. David notes that she studied the Japanese language for six years but has never actually visited the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
But David, 39, is not one known to back down from a challenge, despite the odds, so a visit to Tokyo could still be in the cards.
A Pikesville native and 2002 alumna of Pikesville High School, David is running for the office of State’s Attorney for Baltimore County. She is currently serving as deputy state prosecutor in the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor.
She is challenging Scott D. Shellenberger, who is seeking his sixth term as State’s Attorney for Baltimore County.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University who earned her law degree at the University of Maryland School of Law, David lives in Baltimore County with her husband of nearly a decade, Glenn A. Gordon, and their young son and daughter.
In addition to her law degree, David has a master’s degree from Queens University of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Prior to entering law school, she worked for two years in the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit.
Jmore recently caught up with David, 2023 co-recipient of The Associated’s Harry Greenstein Award, to discuss her campaign.
What do you think is the biggest issue right now for the Baltimore County State’s Attorney?
The safety of the county. I’m from Baltimore County. I was born here, grew up here, am raising my children here, and they go to Baltimore County schools.
My commitment to the safety of the county is lifelong and very personal to me. And the safety of my children is an important part of why I do this.
If elected, will Jewish values influence your work?
‘Justice, justice, you shall pursue justice.’ One of the most important roles of the state’s attorney is to truly be someone pursuing justice. Not someone who thinks they know what is right in every situation but somebody who understands that we always must be striving for justice.
Our religion teaches that what is just for one person is not always what the other person finds just. So it requires community engagement. It requires listening. It requires constantly trying to determine how we can be better.
That’s a Jewish value I’ve learned and believe is absolutely necessary to be the state’s attorney.
What types of cases are handled by the State’s Attorney for Baltimore County?
The State’s Attorney is responsible for prosecuting all of the criminal cases in Baltimore County. Everything from lower-level misdemeanor cases to the most serious homicides.
One of the issues I plan to address is that we don’t really know exactly which cases in which categories are brought to this office, or the aggregate result of the cases. You can see which cases are charged, but you can’t see what happens in them.
A majority of the crimes in Baltimore County are classified as property crimes, with the vast majority being theft. There are also assault cases or crimes against a person such as fraud, which are significantly increasing. Then, there are motor vehicle and drug crimes and violent crimes — domestic abuse, homicides and sexual assault.
To handle these cases, there are 147 positions in this state’s attorney’s office and 60 of them are prosecutors.
You talk a lot about modernization and comprehensive crime prevention.
When I talk about modernization of the state’s attorney’s office, it’s not just specific types of technology. It’s also about a general perspective of the role of the state’s attorney.
For example, I think Baltimore County needs to focus on the preventive aspect of community engagement on public safety and the sources of crime before the crimes occur. We need public and private partnerships to talk with businesses and people in the community.
Comprehensive crime prevention would have prosecutors speaking to different communities about, for example, what is a healthy relationship, what county sources exist for people who have questions about relationships, what is consent. Prosecutors would go to groups, schools and other points within the community.
This community engagement and education is a really important role for the state’s attorney and prosecutors to play in Baltimore County. In other jurisdictions where prosecutors have done this, it actually reduces the non-violent case load so prosecutors would focus more on violent crimes.
Modernization includes data so we know what we should be tracking. If we have a challenge proving a case, for example, we need to track the data so we know why we’re not getting a conviction. Looking at the reactive but also focusing on being proactive and implementing new ideas.
Each case is going to be different, but we need to be able to sort out what we require to make sure that not only are we prosecuting the cases but we’re getting the convictions we need because we have the evidence we need.
That can be sorted for different reasons, but if we’re not measuring it, then we can’t manage the challenges.
How would the state’s attorney’s office deal with non-violent crimes?
Non-violent offenders committing property crimes and their mental health or substance abuse issues could have their underlying challenges addressed by professional mental health and substance abuse resources. So we’d be leveraging county and state resources to prevent future crimes by connecting offenders with these resources. These connections would be a priority for individuals who come into the criminal justice process for non-violent crimes.
Addiction centers and other nonprofit resources can also help people connect with housing or jobs, if those are underlying problems of people committing crimes.
We want to connect people with the right services at a very early part of the process. This sort of comprehensive crime prevention is not being undertaken strategically by the state’s attorney’s office.
One of the big conversations we’re having now is about visas for people who fear deportation. If someone is a victim of or a witness to a crime and needs to testify for the state, the state’s attorney can give them a visa so their immigration status is not implicated. There must be education around this so more people know it is available.
What about juvenile crime?
There’s a lot of opportunity to engage in preventive aspects when it comes to juvenile crime. There are many programs through the Department of Juvenile Services and a specialized prosecutorial unit to understand each juvenile case. There are juvenile crime cases where it has to be about accountability.
I would keep the data on what’s happening with cases that come to the prosecutor’s office. We’d need to know where there’s been a high level of recidivism and where there’s not.
What would be your policies for violent crimes?
Each case is going to be different, so we need to be able to sort out what we require to make sure that not only are we prosecuting the cases but we’re getting the convictions we need because we have the evidence we need.
That can be sorted for all sorts of reasons but if we’re not measuring it, then we can’t manage the challenges. So my administration will collect data on our office’s approach to criminal activity within Baltimore County. With this data, we can also train our prosecutors to tackle the most pressing challenges facing our county.
For the most complex cases, we will implement vertical prosecution. A dedicated prosecutor will follow the case from investigation through trial to ensure that we bring the strongest case to court to secure a conviction.
What about cases of domestic abuse and sexual assault?
I do a lot of work in both my professional and private capacity in this space. I know that survivors need different types of resources in different types of cases.
Domestic violence cases, for example, are complicated because they sometimes involve other areas, such as family law, homes, children and other issues. It would be really important to me as the state’s attorney to make this office a place where victims of domestic violence and sexual assault feel comfortable to come because they know they’d be connected with prosecutorial tools as well as community resources.
They would be treated well and supported if the trial process is to go forward because we would make sure that our prosecutors and witness advocates are trained and understand the need to proceed with sensitivity.
This office would also be a strong partner for organizations supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We would lead efforts to preserve evidence and hold offenders accountable. We would ensure that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault have control over their legal journey.
We would also track and report the progress of each case. But if a victim decides the trial process is not going to work for them, they could continue to use the resources for their ongoing safety.
Peter Arnold is a local freelance writer.
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