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Ivan Bates
Bates in October 2022
26th State's Attorney of Baltimore
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byMarilyn Mosby
Personal details
BornSeptember 1968 (age 56)
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Locust Point, Baltimore, Maryland
EducationHoward University (BA)
William & Mary Law School (JD)
OccupationDefense attorney
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1986–1988
RankPrivate first class
Unit32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command

Ivan Jules Bates[1][2] (born September 1968)[3] is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the State's Attorney of Baltimore since 2023.

Early life

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Bates was adopted by his parents, Henry and Cleora, in El Paso, Texas. Due to his father's service in the United States Air Force, his family moved several times, including to Germany, Virginia, and New Mexico, before finally settling in Hampton, Virginia, where Bates attended the segregated Bethel High School, where he graduated with a 1.9 GPA.[4][5]

After graduating from high school, his father enlisted him in the United States Army, where he was assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command and worked as a light wheel vehicle mechanic before reaching the rank of private first class. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1988.[4]

After leaving the military, he enrolled at Howard University, where he served as the second president of the Howard University Student Association[6] before graduating with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1992. Afterwards, he attended the William & Mary Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1995. While at William & Mary, he clerked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. After graduating, Bates wanted to move back to Los Angeles, California, but his mother asked him to move to Baltimore to take care of his aunt Edna.[4]

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Bates started his legal career in Baltimore, working as a law clerk for Baltimore Circuit Court Judge David B. Mitchell. He later worked in the homicide division of the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office under state's attorney Patricia Jessamy from July 1996 to June 2002.[4][7] He left to become a defense attorney for the law firm of Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, and Ravenell, and worked on the U.S. Supreme Court case Maryland v. Blake.[4][8]

In 2006, Bates started his own law firm of Bates & Garcia, P.C., in downtown Baltimore.[4][9] He represented Baltimore Police sergeant Alicia D. White, one of six police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in April 2015, and several clients victimized by the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force, whose members in 2017 were federally indicted and convicted of racketeering.[4][10] In June 2019, Bates testified before the commission to Restore Trust in Policing, recommending a number of state laws to prevent corruption in Baltimore's criminal justice system.[11]

State's Attorney of Baltimore City

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Elections

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2018

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On August 26, 2017, Bates announced his candidacy for state's attorney of Baltimore, challenging incumbent state's attorney Marilyn Mosby.[12] He ran on a platform of supporting community policing and curbing gun violence.[13]

During the campaign, Kristien Miller, a supporter of Thiruvendran Vignarajah, filed a lawsuit against Bates alleging that he was not qualified to run for state's attorney. In March 2018, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill ruled that Bates had lived in the city since 2016 and was qualified to run for state's attorney.[14][15]

In May 2018, Bates released a campaign ad in which he claimed that he had "never lost a murder case".[16] He came under fire for this claim, as online court records show that Bates prosecuted eight murders and dropped five of them. Bates defended his claims by providing additional court records that list him as a prosecutor in homicide cases against Lynelle Whiting and Gregory Everett in 2001 and 2002 respectively.[7] In June, he released a list of 11 more cases he claimed as "wins", four of which had ended in convictions.[17] He later threatened to sue the two other candidates in the race, Vignarajah and Mosby, and the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper for defamation, calling the claims made by the candidates related to his murder cases were "absolute lies".[18]

Also in May 2018, Bates told the Rolling Stone that he would drop charges against Adnan Syed, the Serial podcast host who was serving life in prison for his initial conviction in the killing of Hae Min Lee in 1999.[19]

Bates was defeated in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, placing second behind Mosby with 28.1 percent of the vote.[20]

2022

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On November 18, 2021, Bates announced that he would again run for state's attorney, challenging incumbent state's attorney Marilyn Mosby.[9][21]

Bates supports improving the technology used in the state's attorney's office, including software programs that would add subtitles to police body camera videos.[9] He unveiled a prosecution plan in March 2022, which includes cracking down on gun violence and restarting prosecutions for nonviolent crimes such as drug possession, prostitution, and trespassing,[22] promising mandatory prison sentences for people convicted on gun charges. He also sought to increase collaboration with the Baltimore Police Department to reduce violent crime. He stressed during the campaign that these policies did not mean the city would be returning to a tough-on-crime mindset that leads to mass incarceration, with many cases being funneled to diversion courts to connect people with alternative treatment services.[23][24]

During the primary, Bates received endorsements from The Baltimore Sun,[25] former Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon, former mayoral candidate Mary J. Miller,[26] Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, state delegate Luke Clippinger, and former state's attorney Greg Bernstein.[10]

Bates defeated incumbent state's attorney Marilyn Mosby and Democratic challenger Thiruvendran Vignarajah in the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, receiving 40.9 percent of the vote.[27] Bates was to face Independent candidate Roya Hanna in the general election, but she dropped out and endorsed Bates shortly after his primary win, clearing his path to victory.[28][29]

Tenure

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Bates was sworn in as state's attorney on January 3, 2023.[30] On his first day in office, he reversed Mosby's non-prosecution policy for low-level offenses like drug possession, prostitution, and trespassing.[31][32]

In July 2022, Bates told The Baltimore Banner that he planned to drop the controversial case against Keith Davis Jr., who was scheduled for a fifth murder trial in the fatal shooting of Pimlico Race Course security guard Kevin Jones in 2015.[26] He declined to comment on the case after winning the Democratic primary, saying that "[a]s State's Attorney-elect, I am no longer a private citizen. I must be mindful of the gag order imposed to the current State's Attorney and how it would ethically apply to me".[33] On January 13, 2023, Bates ended the State's Attorney's office's prosecution of Davis, dropping all charges against him.[34]

Wes Moore shakes Ivan Bates's hand after signing his bill to strengthen sentences for illegally carrying handguns
Governor Wes Moore signs Bates' gun sentencing bill, 2023

During the 2023 legislative session, Bates endorsed a bill to increase maximum sentences from three years to five years for people who illegally carry handguns, arguing that it would "ensure fairness under the law and serve as a deterrent".[35][36] The bill was supported by all elected state's attorneys in Maryland,[37] and opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, faculty of Baltimore law schools, and the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, who cited research from Johns Hopkins University which showed that longer sentences did not deter crime.[38] The bill was later incorporated into the Gun Safety Bill of 2023, which was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in April,[39] and signed into law by Governor Wes Moore in May 2023.[40] In March 2023, Bates endorsed an anti-crime package introduced by the Maryland Republican Party, which included bills strengthening penalties for gun theft and repeat violent offenses.[41]

In July 2023, amid a mass shooting in Baltimore that killed two and injured 28, Bates released a statement expressing his condolences and calling for gun control and policies targeting repeat violent offenders.[42]

During the 2024 legislative session, Bates supported legislation to extend probationary periods for gun crimes committed by juveniles, limit the Child Interrogation Protection Act, and allow state's attorneys to file a motion to modify an incarcerated individual's sentence "at any time".[43][44]

Personal life

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Bates has two daughters named Brielle and London.[4][45] He lives in the Locust Point community of Baltimore.[9]

In 2021, Bates' third wife, Lana, filed for a divorce.[4]

Hours before Bates was sworn in as State's Attorney of Baltimore, he was hospitalized and treated for dehydration. Despite this, his swearing-in went as planned.[46]

Electoral history

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Baltimore City State's Attorney Democratic primary election, 2018[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Marilyn Mosby (incumbent) 39,766 49.4
Democratic Ivan Bates 22,619 28.1
Democratic Thiru Vignarajah 18,130 22.5
Baltimore City State's Attorney Democratic primary election, 2022[47]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ivan Bates 34,684 40.9
Democratic Thiru Vignarajah 25,685 30.3
Democratic Marilyn Mosby (incumbent) 24,415 28.8
Baltimore City State's Attorney election, 2022[48]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ivan Bates 129,961 98.2
Write-in 2,417 1.8

References

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  1. ^ "MSBA Member Directory". Maryland State Bar Association. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Ivan Jules Bates Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  3. ^ DeVille, Taylor; Sullivan, Emily; Wood, Pamela (August 12, 2023). "Political notes: Where to watch the Mayor Scott documentary; an endorsement for Nick Mosby; finding inspiration from Beyoncé; awards and endorsements". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Segelbaum, Dylan (August 3, 2022). "How Ivan Bates went from a 1.9 high school GPA to become the presumptive next Baltimore state's attorney". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Profile: Ivan Bates for Baltimore City States Attorney". WMAR-TV. June 21, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Williams, Juan (September 20, 1992). "The Continuing Education of Franklyn Jenifer". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Prudente, Tim (June 11, 2018). "Baltimore state's attorney candidate Ivan Bates under fire for claims he never lost a murder case". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  8. ^ "Profile: Ivan Bates, Candidate for Baltimore City State's Attorney". WYPR. May 8, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Prudente, Tim (November 18, 2021). "Attorney Ivan Bates joins race for Baltimore State's Attorney, citing need to address city's violence". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Mann, Alex; Sanderlin, Lee O. (July 23, 2022). "5 things to know about Ivan Bates, Democratic nominee for Baltimore state's attorney". Capital Gazette. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  11. ^ Gaines, Danielle E. (June 12, 2019). "Defense Attorney Sickens Member of State Panel With His Tales of Police Corruption". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Shen, Fern (August 26, 2017). "Announcing candidacy, Bates vows to restore confidence in the State's Attorney's Office". Baltimore Brew. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Manas, Samuel (May 11, 2018). "Candidates for Baltimore State's Attorney Hammer Absent Incumbent". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  14. ^ Prudente, Tim (March 23, 2018). "Judge rules Ivan Bates can run in Baltimore state's attorney election". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Cobun, Heather (March 23, 2018). "Judge rules Bates can run for Baltimore state's attorney". The Daily Record. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Prudente, Tim (May 8, 2018). "Baltimore state's attorney candidate Ivan Bates releases ad in campaign against Marilyn Mosby". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  17. ^ Prudente, Tim (June 14, 2018). "Ivan Bates' 'undefeated' claim of prosecuting murders in Baltimore not a clear cut case". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  18. ^ Herring, Vanessa (June 26, 2018). "Ivan Bates threatens lawsuit against fellow City State's Attorney candidates". WBAL-TV. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  19. ^ McDonell-Parry, Amelia (May 21, 2018). "'Serial': Baltimore State's Attorney Race Could Mean Freedom for Adnan Syed". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Baltimore City". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  21. ^ O'Neill, Madeleine (November 18, 2021). "Baltimore defense lawyer Ivan Bates announces run for state's attorney". The Daily Record. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  22. ^ Mann, Alex (March 1, 2022). "Baltimore state's attorney candidate Ivan Bates unveils prosecution plan he says would reduce violent crime". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  23. ^ Sanderlin, Lee O. (July 25, 2022). "Ivan Bates, the Democratic nominee for Baltimore state's attorney, says reducing crime requires collaboration". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  24. ^ Segelbaum, Dylan (September 6, 2022). "Three takeaways about Ivan Bates' plans as state's attorney made at a Greater Baltimore Committee and Goucher College event". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "The Sun endorses Ivan Bates for Baltimore state's attorney in the Democratic primary election | COMMENTARY". The Baltimore Sun. June 22, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  26. ^ a b Prudente, Tim (July 5, 2022). "Embattled Marilyn Mosby tries to fend off familiar rivals for third term as Baltimore state's attorney". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  27. ^ Mann, Alex; Sanderlin, Lee O. (July 23, 2022). "Ivan Bates wins Democratic primary for Baltimore State's Attorney; Mosby, Vignarajah concede race". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  28. ^ Mann, Alex (July 29, 2022). "Roya Hanna drops out of Baltimore state's attorney race, paving clear path for Democratic nominee Ivan Bates in general election". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  29. ^ Prudente, Tim (July 29, 2022). "Independent Roya Hanna drops out of Baltimore prosecutor race, leaving Bates as only candidate". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  30. ^ Segelbaum, Dylan (January 3, 2023). "Ivan Bates takes the oath of office as 26th Baltimore state's attorney". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  31. ^ Mann, Alex (January 3, 2023). "Ivan Bates sworn in as Baltimore state's attorney, immediately reinstates prosecution of low-level offenses". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  32. ^ Segelbaum, Dylan (January 2, 2023). "Ivan Bates is set to become Baltimore state's attorney. Here's what you need to know". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  33. ^ Mann, Alex (August 3, 2022). "Keith Davis Jr.'s fifth murder trial is set for May. Ivan Bates, who has pledged to dismiss charges, is expected to take office by then". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  34. ^ Segelbaum, Dylan (January 13, 2023). "Baltimore State's Attorney's Office drops controversial murder case against Keith Davis Jr". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  35. ^ Segelbaum, Dylan (February 10, 2023). "Bates wants tougher sentences for carrying a gun without a permit. Will it deter crime?". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  36. ^ Collins, David (February 15, 2023). "Bates testifies before House panel to support bill to change sentences for illegal gun violations". WBAL-TV. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  37. ^ O'Neill, Madeleine (February 15, 2023). "Bates pushes for enhanced gun penalties, though critics question impact". The Daily Record. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  38. ^ Sanderlin, Lee O. (February 15, 2023). "Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates wants longer gun sentences despite opposing research". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  39. ^ Bush, Matt (April 11, 2023). "Major gun bill passes before Maryland General Assembly adjourns for the year". WYPR. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  40. ^ O'Neill, Madeleine (May 16, 2023). "Bates-backed tougher gun penalties become law". The Daily Record. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  41. ^ Collins, David (March 2, 2023). "Maryland GOP caucus' crime-fighting package addresses guns, juvenile crimes". WBAL-TV. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  42. ^ Holpuch, Amanda; Owens, Donna (July 2, 2023). "Shooting in Baltimore Leaves at Least 2 Dead and 28 Wounded". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  43. ^ Ford, William J. (December 15, 2023). "Braveboy, Bates join to introduce legislative priorities before upcoming General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  44. ^ Wintrode, Brenda (December 15, 2023). "Bates, Braveboy back juvenile justice changes, ability to revise more sentences". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  45. ^ Hall, Tom; Sivak, Rob (May 24, 2018). "Ivan J. Bates, Democrat for Baltimore State's Attorney". WYPR. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  46. ^ "Ivan Bates sworn in as Baltimore City State's Attorney". WJZ-TV. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  47. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Baltimore City". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  48. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Baltimore City". Maryland State Board of Elections.
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