Erek Barron

Barron was born in Washington, D.C. and attended the Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia). In 1996 he graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor's degree in English. Three years later he earned a Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School and was admitted to the Maryland Bar the same year. He later earned a Master of Laws, with a focus on International Law and National Security Law, from Georgetown University Law Center. He is with the Maryland law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston and a member of the American Bar Association. Barron is a former prosecutor and has worked as an Assistant State's Attorney for Prince George's County and Baltimore City (2001-2006), a trial Attorney in U.S. Department of Justice (2006-2007) and Counsel and Policy Advisor to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Senator Joe Biden (2007-2009).

In 2013, Barron was recruited by the American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project to handle, pro bono, the appeal in Isaiah McCoy v. State of Delaware in which McCoy was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. On appeal before the Delaware Supreme Court, the Court decided, unanimously, to reverse McCoy's convictions and death sentence based on prosecutorial misconduct and voir dire error.[2] The original prosecutor on the case was suspended for his misconduct in the case.[3][4] On remand, McCoy was acquitted on all charges after a bench trial.[5][6][7]

Barron was sworn in as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14, 2015. He was assigned to the Health and Government Operations Committee and its government operations & long-term care and health facilities & occupations subcommittees. He is also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and he is an associate member of the Women Legislators of Maryland.[1]

As a legislator, Barron has focused on bipartisan public safety solutions at the intersection of criminal justice and public health. He also concentrates on issues related to education, government accountability, and transportation in the Washington metropolitan area.

In 2016, Barron was a key co-author of The Justice Reinvestment Act, a bi-partisan, landmark criminal justice reform bill designed to enhance public safety, substantially reduce corrections costs, and increase recidivism.[8][9] In 2017, Barron played a key role in reform of Maryland's pretrial system by joining with fellow lawmakers in requesting a landmark legal opinion from the State Attorney General and subsequently helping to form and protect the new pretrial rules developed by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

During his tenure Barron has also been a key lawmaker in combating the opioid crisis and, in 2016, authored bipartisan legislation to strengthen Maryland's prescription drug monitoring program to help prevent prescription drug abuse and overprescribing.[10] In the 2017 session, Barron was successful in including opioid treatment and overdose prevention policies within the Heroin and Opioid Prevention Effort (HOPE) and Treatment Act of 2017. Overall, the HOPE Act is a national legislative model designed to combat the growing heroin and opioid epidemic in Maryland by, among other things: increasing funding for behavioral health community providers; expanding grants for drug court programs and a statewide toll-free crisis hotline; requiring the State Health Department to establish crisis treatment centers across the State, as well as requires hospitals to establish a protocol for overdose patients; reducing barriers to overdose medication; and, requiring treatment education to patients.