Accomplishments
 

• Nearly 25 years serving in Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office.

• Prosecute hundreds of major felony cases, including:  State V. Samuel Sheinbein, State V. James Perry, State V. Bruman Alvarez, State V. Gregory Tu, State V. Garrett Wilson, State V. Arthur Lloyd.

• Instrumental in hiring Montgomery County State's Attorney Office's the office's first female Deputy State's Attorney and first Asian-American prosecutor.  Moreover, he was instrumental in doubling the number of Hispanic lawyers and tripling the number of African-American lawyers in the office.

• Founding faculty member of Montgomery College's Paralegal Studies Program.

• Multiple nominations for judicial positions, Montgomery County Circuit and District Courts.

Community Activism

• Since 1996, coordinated an anti-drug program for seventh graders at a Silver Spring grammar school.

• Past Member, Board of Directors at Good Counsel High School, 1997 - 2003.

• Past, current lecturer for Montgomery County Public School Safe Street Program in 2000, and at nearly every Montgomery County public high school.

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• Lecturer for the Maryland State Bar Association Trial Advocacy Program for the past 15 years. 

• Continuing lecturer for various senior groups, including OASIS in Chevy Chase and Gaithersburg. 

• Mentored disadvantaged minority youth since 1994. 

• Coaches multiple youth basketball teams; won the 2^nd consecutive county title in March 2006 for seventh grade boys; considered one of the best basketball coaches in Montgomery County.

• Actively involved in the Special Olympics and similar events for over 30 years.

• Involved in the National Youth Leadership Forum for the past 10 years; keynote speaker 2003. 

John McCarthy’s was born on March 3, 1952 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the oldest of six children.  John’s father, John “Jack” McCarthy, now deceased, was a World War II Navy veteran who served his country in both the European and Asian theatres.  Following World War II, John’s father attended Georgetown University on the GI bill.  John’s mother, Jane, also deceased, was the oldest of nine children.  Both Jack and Jane McCarthy volunteered in the community and taught to all their children the value of serving others with both compassion and honor.  It is from his parents that John integrated his parent’s commitment to community values into his own career choices and community activities.

John attended both grammar school and high school in the New Jersey suburbs outside of Philadelphia.  John graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 1970 where he served as the president of the student government in his senior year.  John attended Catholic University on a baseball scholarship between 1970 and 1974.  Attended Catholic University of America on baseball scholarship from 1970-74. 

Most importantly, John is the loving husband of Jeanette McCarthy since 1977; they are the proud parents of Patrick (24), Meaghan (22), Conor (17), and Matthew (13).
 

Following his graduation from The Catholic University of America, John began a six-year career as a teacher at Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Maryland.  John attended law school in the evening at the University of Baltimore between 1975 and 1979.  He became a member of the Maryland State Bar in 1979, and began his legal career in private practice before joining the State’s Attorney’s Office for Prince George’s County in June 1980.  The following year, John became a public defender in Montgomery County, which was then headed by now Chief Judge DeLawrence Beard. 
 

John McCarthy joined the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office in February 1982 and has served as the Deputy State’s Attorney for Montgomery County since 1996.  In his capacity as Deputy State’s Attorney, John shared the responsibility for managing the daily operations of the State’s Attorney’s Office.  John has been responsible for developing office and prosecutorial policy, supervising the management team, overseeing professional development, acting as a liaison with the county courts, and coordinating community outreach to schools, faith-based organizations, homeowners’ associations, and businesses. 
John was also responsible for making key personnel decisions.  Mr. McCarthy played a vital role in hiring the office’s first female Deputy State’s Attorney and first Asian-American prosecutor.  Moreover, he was instrumental in doubling the number of Hispanic lawyers and tripling the number of African-American lawyers in the office.
 

Litigation Experience & Excellence

John has been a practicing member of the Maryland Bar for the past 26 years, during which time he has maintained an active trial schedule.  John has prosecuted well over 200 major felony cases throughout his career.   Widely regarded as one of the top trial attorneys in Maryland, John has prosecuted many high profile cases, including State v. Samuel Sheinbein, James Perry, Bruman Alvarez, Gregory Tu, Garrett Wilson, and most recently, Arthur Lloyd. 
John has served as a legal advisor on numerous task forces, such as the Sniper Task Force in the fall of 2002 and the task force established to examine a number of open homicides of women in Montgomery County.  In addition, he has been nominated on multiple occasions for judicial positions on both the Circuit and District courts for Montgomery County.  John has also participated in and directed overseas training programs for the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT).
 

Leadership in Law & in the Community

In addition to his duties as Deputy State’s Attorney, John is currently the President of the Montgomery County Bar Foundation and served as the President of the Montgomery County Bar Association from 2004-2005.  He is currently the Secretary of the Criminal Law and Practice Section Counsel for the Maryland State Bar Association. John has also been a member of various committees charged with the responsibility for drafting legislation addressing, among other things, aggressive panhandling, drunk driving laws, children’s safety issues related to domestic violence crimes and school safety issues.

John is also an Associate Professor at Montgomery College, where he has taught since 1979.  Mr. McCarthy was a founding member of Montgomery College’s Paralegal Studies Program, where he has taught Family Law, Tort Law, Business Law, Contracts Law, and Criminal Law.  He served for 10 years on the advisory board for the Paralegal Studies program.  An experienced litigator, John has served as a lecturer on both the state and federal levels regarding various aspects of trial advocacy.