Biographical Sketch
 Patricia C. Jessamy  

Patricia Coats Jessamy is the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland. Mrs. Jessamy was appointed State’s Attorney in February 1995 and has won elections in 1998, 2002, and 2006.

Mrs. Jessamy is responsible for more than 400 employees, including over 200 prosecutors and 200 professional, paraprofessional, and other support staff. The hardworking professionals in the State's Attorney’s Office represent diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and the office is intentionally one of the most diverse in the country.

Mrs. Jessamy fulfilled her life-long dream of becoming a lawyer in May 1974 when she began her legal career in Cleveland, Mississippi. In addition to practicing law in Mississippi for several years, she practiced law in Michigan and Missouri before her admission to the Maryland Bar in 1985.

Since becoming State’s Attorney, Mrs. Jessamy has reorganized the office to deliver more efficient services to the citizens of Baltimore. She has instituted vertical prosecution for all felony cases. The same attorney now handles a case from felony charging through arraignment and trial. She has expanded the Homicide Division and created the Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement (FIVE) Division to prosecute all gun violations and non-fatal shooting cases. She has prioritized domestic violence cases and created a Felony Family Violence Division, focusing on children who have witnessed violence and on domestic violence victims. She has established a Management Information Division (MIS) that has designed and implemented a fully integrated computer network for the office. She has added a graphics section and her MIS staff has been responsible for coordinating connectivity between all criminal justice agencies in the city. In 2006, she created a new Collateral Unit to handle post-conviction/violation of probation matters.

Mrs. Jessamy has received national recognition for her public service efforts and has worked to address issues of witness intimidation, identity theft, and human trafficking. She has also been recognized and honored by numerous legal and civic organizations and is a role model and a mentor, especially of young women. Like Winston Churchill, Mrs. Jessamy believes “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.”

Since becoming State’s Attorney, Mrs. Jessamy has reorganized the office to deliver more efficient services to the citizens of Baltimore.  She has instituted vertical prosecution for all felony cases.  The same attorney now handles a case from felony charging through arraignment and trial.  She has expanded the Homicide Division and created the Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement (FIVE) Division to prosecute all gun violations and non-fatal shooting cases.  She has prioritized domestic violence cases and created a Felony Family Violence Division, focusing on children who have witnessed violence and domestic violence victims.  She has established a Management Information Division (MIS) that has designed and implemented a fully integrated computer network for the office.  She has added a graphics section and her MIS staff has been responsible for coordinating connectivity between all criminal justice agencies in the city.  In 2006, she created a new Collateral Unit to handle post-conviction matters. 

She lives in Baltimore with her husband, Howard.”

Click here to view the three-pronged approach to crime (pdf format)