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Maryland’s attorney Grievance Commission has asked to suspend the law license of former Baltimore State’s attorney Marilyn Mosby following her conviction on federal perjury charges last month.
A new petition asks the Maryland Supreme Court to immediately suspend Mosby because she was found guilty of a “serious crime” as defined under state ethics rules for lawyers.
Mosby will have a chance to respond before the Supreme Court decides on the petition. Her lawyer in her criminal case, Federal Public Defender James Wyda, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If granted, a suspension would be a temporary measure. Mosby would likely face more serious discipline in the future if her conviction survives an expected appeal.
A federal jury found Mosby guilty of two counts of perjury on Nov. 9, agreeing with prosecutors that Mosby lied when she self-certified that she had suffered a pandemic-related financial loss in order to take an early withdrawal from her city retirement account.
Under the CARES Act, a federal law designed to ease the economic consequences of the pandemic, people who suffered an “adverse financial consequence” related to COVID-19 could pull money from their retirement accounts without being penalized.
Mosby made two withdrawals —$40,000 in May 2020 and another $50,000 in December 2020 — under the CARES Act, but jurors found she committed perjury and did not actually experience a financial loss that qualified her to take the money. She used the money to buy two vacation properties in Florida.
The perjury charges each carry a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, though maximum sentences are rare. Mosby will not be sentenced on the charges until she faces a second trial on two counts of mortgage fraud.
All four charges were initially brought together in one indictment but later split into two trials at the defense’s request. The mortgage fraud trial, which will focus on allegations that Mosby failed to disclose a $45,000 IRS lien and made other false statements when she applied for mortgages on the Florida properties, is set to begin in mid-January.
When a lawyer in Maryland has been convicted of a “serious crime,” they are required to inform bar counsel, who oversees investigations and prosecutions of attorneys accused of misconduct. If the lawyer will not be sentenced for at least 30 days, bar counsel can then ask that the lawyer be temporarily suspended from practicing law.
That’s what Maryland Bar Counsel Thomas M. DeGonia did with Friday’s petition for an immediate suspension. DeGonia declined to comment.
Thomas DeGonia took over as Maryland bar counsel in October.
Under the Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct, a “serious crime” includes any offense that is punishable by three or more years in prison and any crime that involves “false swearing” or “misrepresentation.” Mosby’s conviction on the perjury charges placed her within that category.
If Mosby denies the conviction or “intends to present evidence in support of a disposition other than disbarment,” the Maryland Supreme Court could assign a judge to hear her case. If her conviction is upheld in court, however, Mosby would likely only be able to present mitigating evidence, not challenge the underlying facts.
A final outcome, such as disbarment, would come after the conclusion of an appeal and sentencing if Mosby’s conviction is upheld.
The appeals process can take years. Baltimore attorney Kenneth Ravenell, who was convicted of money laundering in December 2021 and is currently petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case, remains on suspended status because his appeal is ongoing.
Mosby, 43, has been a member of the Maryland bar since 2006. She became Baltimore’s top prosecutor in 2015 and led the State’s attorney’s Office through a controversial and at times chaotic period before losing her bid for reelection last year.
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