A Conversation with Patricia Jessamy
Tough Baltimore prosecutor has passion for her community

More than three decades after her graduation, UM law school graduate Patricia Jessamy returned to campus for the first time as the inaugural speaker for the new series “A Conversation With.”

In the fall, Jessamy shared her experiences, from being the only black woman practicing law in the northern district of Mississippi when she began her legal career in 1974 to becoming the first black state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore, Md. Her lecture was titled “Career in Prosecution: From the Delta to Baltimore City State’s Attorney.”

“You’ve got to have a passion for what you do,” Jessamy said. “I have a passion for people and community. I’m excited to be a prosecutor, and I work every day to make my community better.”

Growing up in Hollandale in the 1960s, Jessamy had her first experience with the law at age 16, when her parents, along with other black families, filed a suit under the Federal Public Accommodations Act asking that their children be treated as equals in all public places.

“Ms. Jessamy’s presentation showed the road she has traveled, from the Delta to the chief of one of the largest prosecutor offices in the country,” said law professor and event organizer Thomas Clancy. “Yet, she obviously remains committed to the worth of each individual and recognizes that society must do more than just incarcerate offenders. It must educate the young to deter crime and help those who have committed crimes turn to a better life.”

Once out of law school, Jessamy was a private attorney who worked on behalf of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Cleveland. She soon turned to prosecuting and worked in Mississippi, Michigan, Missouri and Maryland.

Jessamy encouraged her audience to find mentors, even among people who seem unlikely candidates for such a role.

“My mentors were the white judges in Mississippi,” Jessamy said. “Just because they didn’t look like me, I couldn’t assume that they wouldn’t help me. Most people want to see you succeed.”

As Baltimore’s state’s attorney, Jessamy deals not only with the largest jurisdiction in Maryland but also the one with the most crimes and homicides: 330 annually. She leads a team of 220 lawyers and is in her third term of office.

Upon taking office, Jessamy updated the office’s obsolete computer network by establishing a Management Information Division to coordinate all criminal justice agencies in the city. She also expanded the Homicide Division and created Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement.

In response to the 110,000 annual arrests Baltimore police were making, Jessamy has developed a three-pronged approach to deal with crime: prevention, treatment and law enforcement. As part of this approach, she visits with middle and high school students in her office during courthouse tours to give them a positive view of the law.

“We can’t arrest our way out of a problem,” Jessamy said. “We need to do something else.”

She also serves as president of two nonprofit organizations that started in her office as grants: Partnership for Learning, a juvenile reading program; and the Baltimore Child Abuse Center, a child advocacy program that coordinates the investigation of child sexual abuse cases.

Her motivation for this tough job comes from a thirst for learning how to do something different every day, and her reward comes from people who often stop her on the streets to thank her.

“I tell the people that I interview for jobs: ‘You must have love of law and want to be a litigator and have a centered moral compass,’” Jessamy said. “’Winning is not everything. You just have to win the right thing.’”

Third-year law student LaToya Take of Jackson said Jessamy’s presentation helped improve her opinion of prosecutors.

“I’ve always had a negative view of prosecutors, and she made me realize what a good thing they do,” Take said. “I thought she was a great speaker, and what she has done as a prosecutor is really amazing.”

—Kara Given

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