Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy is making it clear he wants a reputation for being tough on violent crime, telling a new TV series that his office is zeroing in on guns, repeat offenders and the small share of cases that drive the most serious violence in the suburbs.
What He Told DC News Now
In a Target: Crime episode that aired July 14, McCarthy outlined a prosecutorial game plan built around aggressive gun prosecutions, data-driven case selection and tight coordination with neighboring jurisdictions, according to DC News Now. The interview is part of the station's new series digging into how prosecutors, police and policymakers across the DMV say they are trying to push crime numbers down.
How The Office Tracks Cases
McCarthy points to a public data dashboard and specialized units, including a Gun Prosecution Unit and a Juvenile Court Division, as tools his office uses to spot trends and decide which cases deserve the most attention, according to the State's Attorney's Office. The dashboard is part of what the office describes as an effort to make prosecution decisions more transparent and more anchored in evidence rather than gut instinct.
Carjackings And Juvenile Policy
McCarthy has been especially vocal about carjackings and violent youth crime. He told FOX 5 DC that “what makes the difference is the certainty of being caught” and stressed that the state, not the county, largely controls juvenile sentencing and policy. He argued that prosecutors have to walk a line between holding serious young offenders accountable and not “dumping more kids into a system that has inadequate resources.”
Recent Prosecutions
So far this year, the office has paired that rhetoric with a set of headline-ready cases, including a 75-year sentence in an MS-13-related murder and guilty verdicts in violent carjacking prosecutions, according to recent press releases from the State's Attorney's Office. McCarthy has pointed to those outcomes as proof his team can go hard after the most dangerous offenders while still steering lower-level defendants toward diversion and prevention programs.
Legal Authority And Limits
The State's Attorney is an independently elected state official and serves as Montgomery County's chief prosecutor, but big-picture changes to juvenile law and sentencing come from the Maryland General Assembly and state courts, per the Maryland Manual. The Maryland Manual lays out the office's role and the constitutional framework that defines what county prosecutors can and cannot do.
The interview also lands as McCarthy gears up for voters to weigh in on his future. He is running for re-election in 2026, and official candidate filings show he is listed on the Maryland primary ballot that year. Maryland's State Board of Elections records indicate McCarthy has filed for the 2026 State's Attorney primary, a reminder that the approach he is touting on TV will ultimately be judged at the ballot box as well as in the courtroom.
