Starting in 1818, duties of the State's Attorney were first carried out by the District Attorney (Chapter 146, Acts of 1817 December session). Appointed by the Governor in each judicial district, the District Attorney prosecuted cases on behalf of the State. By 1821, the District Attorney was renamed the Deputy Attorney and was appointed by the Attorney General (Chapter 126, Acts of 1821 December session).
The office of State's Attorney was first authorized in 1851 (Constitution of 1851, Art. V, secs. 1-5). The State's Attorney prosecutes and defends, on the part of the State, all cases in Somerset County in which the State may be interested (Code Criminal Procedure Article, secs. 15-101 through 15-109, 15-420).
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