Mayor Sheila Dixon
Democratic Mayor Sheila Dixon was charged on twelve counts this past January and is getting ready to head into court on Thursday, November 12th. The crimes that she has been indicted for include perjury, misconduct, theft, and fraudulent misappropriations. When police searched her home after obtaining a warrant for search and seizure, they found several expensive gifts such as fur coats and it was apparent that the amount of money that she had been spending did not match the amount she had been earning. All of the charges that Dixon is facing seems to come about from the embezzlement and wrongful use of a number of gift cards that had been originally intended for use by the less fortunate.
Sheila Dixon had quite a remarkable career before these accusations surfaced. She is the first woman to ever serve as Mayor of Baltimore, and only the third African American to do so as well. She was also the first African American woman to serve as President of the Baltimore City Council. Dixon had graduated from Towson University as well as a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. All of these are extraordinary feats and Dixon had been quite a role model for both African Americans and women, as well as an avid churchgoer and trustee at the Bethel A.M.E. Church. All of her accomplishments and boards she has served on makes it all the more unfortunate that she would be involved in a scandal of this nature.
What is especially interesting about this case is that the State Prosecutor, Robert Rohrbaugh, has enlisted a trial consultant to help with jury selection. There is a great deal of racial tension in Baltimore, so this may not be as crazy of an idea as many believe it to be. Rohrbaugh has not had a significant amount of experience in dealing with Baltimore juries, so getting consultant Ronald Matlon to provide assistance could be a great strategic move for the prosecution. In this type of case it is important that the jury not have any bias, and Malton will be helping to assure that. Dixon’s defense attorney, Arnold Weiner, will not be using a trial consultant for jury selection.
At this point, all that is left is for Dixon and her defense to plea her case. The evidence is in no way stacked in her favor, so it is going to take quite a bit of work to prove her innocence. The jury is likely to be objective due to Ronald Matlon’s consultancy, and the facts will be speaking for themselves. Any jury members that may have had preconceived notions have hopefully been weeded out in the selection process, and we will be able to find out more about Sheila Dixon and Baltimore’s future on Thursday.
