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Protecting
Maryland
Supporting
Law Enforcement
One of the Attorney General's principal goals is to utilize the
full resources of the Office of the Attorney General to support
the efforts of police and prosecutors throughout the state in the
fight against crime. The Criminal Appeals Division, which handles
all appeals of convictions, obtains a favorable result in 90 percent
of the cases we handle. The Attorney General personally has focused
on giving law enforcement the tools it needs to better serve the
citizens of Maryland, obtaining a ruling from the U.S. Supreme
Court
in Maryland v. Wilson, that police officers be given the authority
to order passengers out of a lawfully stopped vehicle when necessary
to protect the officers and, in Maryland v. Craig, upholding Maryland's
law so children who are victims of child abuse can testify via
one-way
television.
Fighting
Cybercrime
In 2004 the Attorney General proposed, drafted, and then successfully
advocated for legislation to protect Maryland children from sexual
predators. At the time state laws made it a crime for an adult
to engage in sexual conduct with a child 15 or younger. The Attorney
General's proposal made it a crime to solicit a minor by computer,
telephone,
or any other means, to engage in unlawful sexual conduct. The law
also permits prosecution if the person solicited was believed to
be a minor, but in actuality was an undercover police officer.
Attorney
General Gansler’s Firearms Trafficking Unit, in
cooperation with the Firearms Licensing and Registration Division
and the Firearms Enforcement Section of the Maryland State Police,
participates in the seizure of hundreds of firearms every year,
and performs hundreds of traces of recovered firearms. In its effort
to eliminate illegal purchases, sales, transfers and possessions
of firearms, the Firearms Trafficking Unit investigates a substantial
number of applications to purchase regulated firearms–resulting
in the Unit bringing charges against a number of individuals who
do not have the right to possess regulated firearms.
With the cooperation of several gun dealers across the state,
the Firearms Trafficking Unit has also initiated a program that
maintains ammunition logs that include identification information
of purchasers of ammunition. Review of these logs results in
the investigation of individuals who are prohibited from possessing
regulated firearms and who are believed to have purchased ammunition
which could be used in such firearms. The Firearm Trafficking
Unit’s continuing investigations have led to charges and
arrests of individuals and the seizure of handguns from those
that violate the law.
Civil
Commitment of Sex Offenders
The Attorney General supported legislation on behalf of a bill that would enable
Maryland to join 15 other states and Washington, D.C., where civil
commitment and treatment of convicted sex offenders is legal. Such
legislation would have prevented the tragic death of 9-year-old
Christopher Ausherman, who was found dead in a Frederick baseball
dugout in November 2000. Convicted sex offender Elmer Spencer, Jr.,
was convicted in the murder case. The Attorney General will continue
to fight for civil commitment legislation in an effort to protect
our children and others from mentally-ill criminals who are released
untreated into society.
Advocating
for Consumers
The Consumer Protection Division, with offices in Baltimore, Hagerstown and Salisbury, has assisted thousands of consumers in fighting predatory lenders to "hucksters" making fraudulent claims of "miracle cures" for diseases such as cancer and AIDS. The Mediation and Health Education and Advocacy Units together receive over 12,000 complaints annually from consumers who have disputes with merchants or health care providers, HMOs and insurers. The mediation efforts of those units obtained more than $4 million in refunds and savings to consumers who filed complaints in 2010. During the past decade, the Division's Enforcement Unit obtained tens of millions of dollars in consumer restitution and penalties. Visit the Consumer Protection Division
page.
Protecting
the Environment
In the Office of the Attorney General, there is a dedicated unit
to enforce Maryland's environmental laws against those who release
dangerous toxins into our air, land and waterways and against those
who illegally dump tires in our forests and in our neighborhoods.
His "Operation Tire Track" initiative, works cooperatively
with state and federal agencies in the fight to preserve Maryland's
natural resources for future generations.
In
2002, the Attorney General and eight fellow Attorneys General, urged the Bush
administration not to weaken the Clean Air Act of 1970, which provides
for the reduction of power plant pollution that causes smog, acid
rain and respiratory disease. He also represents the State in a
national initiative to sue power plants across the country whose
emissions travel to Maryland for failure to comply with the New
Source Review, which requires old power plants to upgrade their
pollution controls when they make any alterations to their plants.
White
Collar Crimes
The Criminal Investigations Division prosecutes white collar and
insurance fraud, while the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit takes action
against those committing Medicaid Fraud in Maryland. Gansler's
Antitrust Division enforce's the laws that provide a fair and competitive
marketplace for Maryland consumers and businesses, while the Securities
Division's primary function is to protect Maryland investors from
investment fraud and misrepresentation.
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