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'I still really love this job': Smith starts fifth term as county's top prosecutor

Frederick News-Post - 1/3/2023

Jan. 3—Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith was sworn in for his fifth term Tuesday, along with Deputy State's Attorney Kirsten Brown and other Frederick County assistant state's attorneys.

No other Frederick County state's attorney has been elected for more than three terms.

"I am excited, you know, because I still really love this job," Smith said after the informal ceremony. "I'm still committed to leading this office and I love to come to work every day. Hopefully, that'll last this four years and beyond that."

Smith, a Republican, ran unopposed in this year's election, which he said is the best way to run. Politics is his least favorite part of his job, he said.

Some people seek the position of state's attorney to move up politically, but that's not what he's here to do, Smith said.

"I think that my fifth term is proof that I am a prosecutor and not a politician," he said.

Smith's wife, Desireé Smith, and two of their four children, Carson and Delaney Smith, attended his swearing in.

In a short speech, Smith revisited some of the office's accomplishments during the last four years. New units were created to better serve the community, he said, in areas such as domestic violence, evidence review and cyber crimes.

A mental health court was also created with the state's attorney's office, he said, which reduces the recidivism rate for those who offend due to mental health problems.

"We knew early on that we needed a different approach to these offenders," Smith said. "So we figured, look, let's address their mental health needs. That is crime fighting. It's not traditional crime fighting in a sense that everybody thinks, but it's crime fighting nonetheless."

In the next four years, Smith said, he and his office have ideas to be more proactive rather than reactive. He wants to create a Family Justice Center and Juvenile Justice Center for Frederick County. A Family Justice Center would work on prosecuting domestic violence and child abuse, while a Juvenile Justice Center would focus on all juvenile crimes.

Smith also said he wanted to ask Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater for more funding for victim and witness services.

Finally, he said, he wants to continue focusing on transparency in prosecution in the next four years, he said. While respecting the privacy and due process rights of those involved in cases is important, Smith wrote in an email, prosecutors have an obligation to explain to the public how they make their decisions.

"I believe in transparency, because I think it's going to combat the false narrative," Smith said. "Everybody else wants it because they want to hold people accountable. They think it's going to expose the injustices. Well, I think it's going to expose the justice that's going on in the USA."

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel

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