Glen Burnie lawyer David Fischeronly officially announced his candidacy for Anne Arundel County state?s attorney on Friday, but the race already has the makings of a long, bitter, personal struggle.
Fischer is using two controversial court cases he says incumbent Frank Weathersbee flubbed as the centerpiece of his campaign.
Weathersbee says Fischer is latching onto those two cases ? the Lee Griffin and Noah Jamahl Jones murders ? as a smokescreen for his lack of experience as a prosecutor.
“He?s picked two cases that he complains about. … It?s all he has,” Weathersbee said.
Fischer has a small law firm in Glen Burnie and says he been the lead attorney in more than 500 trials. One of his clients was Jacob Fortney, one of six white teenagers charged in connection with the murder of Jones, a black teenager who died after a brawl in Pasadena.
Fischer said that Weathersbee only prosecuted the six teenagers because of political pressure from civil rights groups. He said that if he were in office, he would have called in a black medical examiner for a second opinion on the matter of Jones? death ? a controversial aspect of the case.
Fisher also said Weathersbee needs more black prosecutors on his staff to restore his credibility in the black community.
“It?s a trust issue,” Fischer said.
Weathersbee says he is actively recruiting more black attorneys, but it can be difficult to compete with other law firms who are offering big salaries.
“We just don?t have that much money,” Weathersbee said.
Fischer is also focusing on the Griffin murder case ? in which Leeander Blake?s admission of his involvement in a brutal carjacking and murder was thrown out on grounds of legality. Fischer said that if he were state?s attorney, he would have been at the police station when Blake was interviewed to ensure that any statements collected were legal.
Weathersbee said his prosecutors are always on call for detectives and could have been consulted in the case.
“Hindsight is great,” Weathersbee said, but “I don?t have any regret about the way our office runs.”
