Mattingly officially in race for St. Mary's state's attorney

Lawyer says police seized files

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

By JOHN WHARTON

Staff writer

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Mattingly

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John A. Mattingly Jr., a St. Mary's lawyer, said this week that his recent filing as a candidate for the job of state's attorney was followed the next day by a police raid that seized files from his mother's house.

The 40-year-old attorney, whose career has included successfully arguing a client's credit dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court, said Tuesday that he openly began speaking about running for state's attorney years before he filed for the post two weeks ago, and long before the police action that he said points to problems with the county's current prosecutor.

"I'm disturbed that my political opponent is abusing his power," Mattingly said. "Nothing better illustrates what I'm running against, and what I'm running for, than this action. There has to be respect for the law. If they can do this to me, they can do this to anybody, and it's scary."

Mattingly said he has "absolutely not" done anything that would warrant his being criminally prosecuted, and that no investigator has questioned him on any matter. No charges have been filed against the attorney.

Mattingly is a Democratic candidate for the county's top prosecutor post held for three terms by Republican Richard D. Fritz, and Mattingly said changes are needed in how the office handles cases and uses its assistant prosecutors.

"There are attorneys in that office who are skilled lawyers, and I'm not sure they're being utilized" to their full potential, the candidate said. "It comes down to a position of leadership, … but I'm not going in just as an administrator. First and foremost, I am a trial attorney."

Mattingly said the incumbent administration's "disposing of cases based on donations" to civic causes has an intent which "might be good and admirable, [but] it's a problem in my mind."

Mattingly said a decision earlier this year to pull an assistant prosecutor off the handling of a rape trial after it had begun undermined the prosecutor's confidence.

Federal prosecutors recently announced the arrest of a group of local drug suspects on an indictment obtained with the help of local law enforcement officers.

"The role of prosecuting drug traffickers has shifted from our local state's attorney to [the] United States attorney," the candidate said. "What does that really say about the prosecutor's office now? Why isn't law enforcement working with our local prosecutor? The person we're paying with our tax dollars, I don't see him prosecuting them. As state's attorney, I'm going to develop a relationship with law enforcement."

Mattingly's current view of law enforcement includes concerns, however, about its role in the raid at his mother's house that he said took place the day after he went to the board of election's office on Sept. 23 and filed his candidacy. He said the house also is occupied by a tenant who has been his real-estate partner.

"In the basement of that house, there is a storage room where I kept my closed legal files," Mattingly said. "Nowhere on that [search] warrant did it say, ‘seize John Mattingly's legal files.' I think the sheriff is a good man, … [and] I think he's being whip-sawed by the prosecutor's office in this matter, but I'm not the kind of guy who's going to sit back and let them continue to violate the rights we have as citizens."

Mattingly, who lives in Leonardtown's Breton Bay community with his wife and children, said he openly spoke three years ago about running for state's attorney after Fritz lost a bid to unseat an appointed judge.

Mattingly said he already was committed that year to managing a county commissioner's re-election campaign.

jwharton@somdnews.com

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