Rich Gibson is a man who is always generous with his time and especially so with Howard County Community College's program Everyday Law.
Rich first appeared on Everyday Law years ago before he was States Attorney and has made two subsequent visits to discuss the issues in criminal justice facing Howard County, Maryland. The position of States Attorney inevitably is a mix of prosecutorial functions with community outreach and covid 19 rendered this balancing act even more tricky.
This latest appearance focused on the logistics of serving as Howard County's chief prosecutor during a pandemic and new programs being pursued with an eye towards reducing resources expended on minor cases. The program is called the LEAD program and it originated approximately ten years ago in Kings County, Washington.
In essence it allows for police officers and other members of the criminal justice apparatus as well as community members, to identify criminal defendants who do not appear to be a risk to the community and who would benefit from diversion of their case rather than prosecution. Cetain more minor violations would be appropriate for these dispositions.
It's in its nascent stages in Maryland but has reduced prosecution and incarceration elsewhere. It will be intersting to follow up with Rich and see how it has worked down the road. For more go to: https://everydaylaw.podbean.com/e/rich-hgibsonjr/
