Maryland Attorney General overrules racially discriminatory state laws

BALTIMORE - In an official opinion to the Maryland General Assembly on Monday, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh overruled previous rulings of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that upheld racially discriminatory state laws.  

The Attorney General examined all of the Office's official opinions, dating back to the first published volume in 1916, searching for state legislation construed, or upheld based on race.

According to the Attorney General's office, General Frosh found that many former judgments by the office relied on two discriminatory legal principles. The restriction of interracial marriage by the State of Maryland and, and the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public facilities, most notably public education. 

Maryland schools were segregated until 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled segregation unconstitutional. The state also had laws that forbade interracial marriage before they were overturned in 1967.  

"In years past the Office of the Attorney General issued opinions that upheld racially discriminatory laws in our state.  The laws were abhorrent and ultimately held to be unconstitutional," Frosh said in a statement.      

Taking measures to alleviate the negative effects of this discriminatory legislation has been a recent priority of the OAG.

"We hope that our opinion today will help remove the stain of those earlier, harmful and erroneous works.  We will continue to fight to stamp out racism and hate in all of our work for Maryland," Frosh said.