Democrat Tom Perez’s experience as a U.S. Justice Department lawyer fulfills his eligibility requirement to be able to serve as Maryland’s attorney general, Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner ruled Monday.
Perez, a current member of the Montgomery County Council, was sued last month by Stephen Abrams, a Republican county school board member seeking election to state comptroller.
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In the lawsuit, Abrams questioned Perez’s eligibility to run for state attorney general because he has not been a member of the Maryland bar for 10 years. Perez joined the bar in 2001 but had worked as a Justice Department lawyer prosecuting criminals nationwide, including some in Maryland, Perez spokesman has Luke Clippinger said.
The state constitution does not specifically mention that attorney general candidates must be bar members. The law says candidates must be registered voters and must have practiced law in the state for 10 years.
The ruling “will further energize our supporters and kick-start our final push towards the General Election in November,” Perez campaign manager Luke Clippinger said Tuesday.
An advisory opinion issued in May by retiring state Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. — who is a Democrat — declared Perez eligible because of his Justice Department experience.
Perez is one of three Democrats who have filed for the state’s top lawyer spot. He is facing Montgomery County State’s Attorney Doug Gansler and Stuart Simms, a Baltimore lawyer, in the Sept. 12 primary.