Prosecute those who lie for perjury. Require police to investigate allegations. Give people a different way to resolve disputes.

Those are among the changes law professors, state’s attorneys and advocates say could improve an unusual part of the criminal legal system in Maryland — one that allows anyone to seek charges on their own without input from police or prosecutors.

The power to approve these charges rests with district court commissioners, judicial officers who are not required to have a law degree.

District court commissioners can’t look into these claims. They must rely on the accounts of those seeking charges, who swear under oath their allegations are true.

The Banner interviewed more than 100 people and reviewed court records, courtroom audio recordings and body camera video over several months and found the legal process can be easily abused and damage people’s lives.

Here’s a look at ways to fix the system.

Prosecute more people who make false statements for perjury

In 2024, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office showed up at LeRoy Wagner III’s camper after midnight.

“You’re being arrested for first-degree assault, all right?” Deputy Bianca Melton told Wagner.

A man alleged to a district court commissioner that Wagner had threatened him with a gun during a party on the Fourth of July.

Deputy sheriffs took Wagner, 48, of Hollywood, to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, where he spent the night. The next day, prosecutors immediately dropped the case.

Then something unusual happened: The man who made the accusations, Brandon Barker, was charged with two counts of perjury.

Barker, 25, later pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a state official and was sentenced to three days in jail plus three years’ unsupervised probation. He agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution.

Some contend prosecuting more people like Barker who lie under oath could help deter abuse, but that rarely happens.

The Banner could find only five cases from 2024 in which someone was charged with perjury based on statements they made to a district court commissioner.

Barker is the only person who was convicted of a crime.

In court, Wagner spoke about the trauma he experienced.

The sheriff’s office sent out a news release with his name. Online news organization TheBayNet.com published his mugshot.

“I had clients calling. Friends calling. Family calling. Didn’t matter that I didn’t do it,” said Wagner, a U.S. Army veteran who owns a landscaping business. “Everybody still looks at you a certain way.”

Wagner said he’s still haunted by his arrest, and weekly $200 restitution payments serve as constant reminders.

Require district court commissioners to have law degrees

Doug Colbert, a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, argues those making decisions that affect people’s liberty should at the very least have a law degree.

The district court commissioner system, he said, has “outlived its usefulness.”

“It’s such an outdated system, one that I think serves the practical purpose that provides a convenience to judges, but frankly it ought to be replaced,” Colbert said.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said prosecutors, even with their legal expertise, must carefully review the facts and circumstances to determine if charges apply in a case.

“I sometimes have problems with the elements,” Bates said. “So how can I really expect, in terms of the commissioners, understanding really what you’re looking for to see if you actually do have those elements?”

Eliminate the ability of district court commissioners to issue arrest warrants

Del. Jackie Addison, a Democrat from Baltimore, believes district court commissioners should not be able to issue arrest warrants to people outside law enforcement.

She introduced a bill during the past two legislative sessions to take away that power.

Addison has submitted a new bill for the next session that carves out an exception for certain cases brought by people alleging domestic violence.

In those situations, Addison said, state’s attorneys would have 48 hours to review the accusations and decide whether to prosecute.

“The part that can’t be lost is how much damage is done by someone even just being arrested on a frivolous complaint,” said Yanet Amanuel, director of public policy at the ACLU of Maryland. “Even if they’re later dismissed, the harm has already been done.”

Require police officers to investigate allegations

Police, some argue, should investigate allegations before people are charged with a crime.

Though Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess does not support abolishing the district court commissioner system, she still encourages people to call the police.

Sometimes, she said, people do not know what information is helpful in their case. They also might not be able to get a statement from the suspect, preserve evidence or find other witnesses, Leitess said.

“If you just have a layperson making allegations, it’s just not going to be as good, strong of a case,” Leitess said. “It’s just not.”

District court commissioners should at least refer certain crimes such as felonies to the police, Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington said.

“As a prosecutor, I would love for every case to be investigated by the police,” Covington said. “I don’t care how big or how small.”

Mandate that prosecutors approve charges

In a perfect world, prosecutors would first review all these cases, Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker Jr. said.

But Shoemaker noted that might be a “herculean task,” which he said would likely require a lot of additional resources.

“It just doesn’t seem fair that you can be charged with a crime without, at a minimum, some decision made by a prosecutor,” said Brian Shefferman, president of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association. “That’s a problem.”

Give people another way to resolve disputes

Baltimore District Public Defender Marguerite Lanaux said many disputes just do not belong in the criminal legal system.

“It has to be looked at holistically,” Lanaux said. “Community leaders need to look at what resources are available to resolve disputes that don’t rise to be criminal.”

Some state’s attorneys encourage people to go to mediation.

If a case involves family members, Caroline County State’s Attorney Sloane Franklin said his office refers people to Mid Shore Mediation, a nonprofit organization serving Caroline, Dorchester and Talbot counties.

Mid Shore Mediation’s director of operations, Jessica Basom, said the group has met with at least 70 people over the past decade who’d been sent by a state’s attorney.

Mediation is voluntary and offered at no cost, Basom said. The process is also private and confidential.

Basom said the nonprofit hears neighbor disputes concerning parking, property lines and even roaming farm animals.

Though the Maryland Judiciary does not keep statewide data on conviction rates in cases initiated by people outside law enforcement, some state’s attorney’s offices that do track outcomes reported convictions are rare.

Meanwhile, Basom said, the success rate of mediation is about 70%.