Maryland’s highest court ruled Friday that former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s law license will not be suspended while appeals in her two federal convictions are pending.
In a two-page order published Friday, the Supreme Court of Maryland ruled against the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission’s bar counsel, who sought to immediately suspend Mosby’s law license after a jury convicted her of perjury in November. The commission amended its request after her mortgage fraud conviction in February
Bar counsel Thomas D. DeGonia did not respond immediately to a request for comment late Friday.
According to the court’s order, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Yvette M. Byrant will hold a hearing on Mosby’s license after “the completion of appellate review.”
Mosby was sentenced in May to one year of home detention for convictions on perjury and mortgage fraud.
“Today, the [Maryland] Supreme Court stayed the immediate suspension of my law license pending an appeal of these wrongful convictions,” Mosby said in a statement. “I am grateful and continue to remain steadfast that justice will be served. I am continuously appreciative for the outpouring of community support that I have received. Prayer works.”
Her attorney Tiffany Alston called it a “blessing” that Mosby will keep her license during the appeals process. “There a wide range of legal scholars from across the country who are supporting Ms. Mosby’s criminal appeal including attorney Ben Crump,” Alston said in a statement. “We are pleased that the court chose to stay its hand and not impose immediate discipline but instead to allow the justice system to work. The right to practice law is a privilege and today we are [grateful] that Ms. Mosby continues to have it. She does not take this matter lightly.”
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Steven B. Gould wrote that allowing Mosby to maintain an active license would undermine public perception of the justice system. “Ms. Mosby was convicted by two juries of her peers of separate crimes that speak directly to her character,” Gould wrote. “Although I may be persuaded otherwise if this matter comes back to us on a full record, for now, based on the findings of both juries, I am constrained to conclude Ms. Mosby presents an unacceptable risk of harm to the public if permitted to practice law in Maryland.”
Meanwhile, in New York, Rudy Giuliani, who hasn't been convicted of anything, but is accused of supporting President Trump, had his law license lifted.
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