Last Friday, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled that Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess cannot lead the prosecution in the murder case against Dr. James Strachan Houston. The high court also said Leitess may not appeal the judge's order removing her from the case at this stage, while leaving open a narrower appeal over a court-imposed "firewall" that limits her communications with the prosecutors who will try the case.
As reported by The Daily Record, Chief Justice Matthew Fader wrote that the disqualification order was not appealable because it is not separate from the merits, even as the court allowed immediate review of the separate firewall ruling. The high court's move ends a months-long procedural fight over whether an elected prosecutor can be removed from a single case and whether that removal can be reviewed before trial.
Why Leitess Was Disqualified
The state trial record shows the conflict began after a telephone call in April 2025 between Leitess and a neighbor, Steven Valladares. During that call, Valladares told the prosecutor he had been told Houston said his wife once "pulled a knife" on him. According to the unreported opinion from the Appellate Court of Maryland, Leitess then interviewed witnesses without other prosecutors present, sought follow-up interviews, and did not promptly disclose the substance of those conversations to defense counsel. Those circumstances led the circuit judge to find she might be a necessary witness at trial.
Where the Case Stands Now
The underlying criminal case stems from an August 2024 incident in Edgewater. Prosecutors say 47-year-old Nancianne Houston was fatally stabbed, and her husband, Dr. James S. Houston, was also found with stab wounds. Houston has pleaded self-defense. The Baltimore Banner reported that prosecutors contend some of Houston's wounds were self-inflicted in places unlikely to be fatal, and that the disqualification and appeals have effectively frozen trial preparations.
The dispute has also had internal fallout inside the Anne Arundel State's Attorney's Office, including an assistant prosecutor who left and later challenged Leitess in a primary, according to The Daily Record.
Legal Implications and Next Steps
The core legal question has been whether an interlocutory disqualification of an elected prosecutor can be reviewed immediately under the narrow collateral-order doctrine. The Appellate Court's June 2025 opinion explained why most such orders are not collateral and therefore are ordinarily unreviewable until a final judgment. The opinion from the Appellate Court of Maryland is the backbone of the procedural fight the Supreme Court resolved last week, and the high court's carve-out on the firewall issue means at least one discrete legal question will return to the appeals path.
Practically, the ruling keeps the prosecution on hold while the narrower appeal works its way through the courts. Any ultimate decision about who will try the case will depend on how the firewall issue is decided and whether trial judges revisit the disqualification on the merits.
