J. JOSEPH CURRAN, JR.
Attorney General (Democrat)
Born in West Palm Beach, FL, July 7, 1931. Attended Baltimore parochial schools; Loyola High School; University of Baltimore; University of Baltimore School of Law, LL.B., 1959. Admitted to Maryland Bar, 1959. Married; five children.
General Assembly:
Member, House of Delegates, 1959-63. Member, Banking, Insurance
and Social Security Committee; Education Committee.
Member of Senate, 1963-83. Chair, Public Utilities Committee,
1963-66. Member, Banking and Insurance Committee; City Senators Committee;
Education Committee (Vice-Chair); Executive Nominations Committee; Judicial
Proceedings Committee; Motor Vehicles Committee; Veterans and Civil Defense
Committee; Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Matters, 1965; Legislative
Liaison Committee for the Constitutional Convention, 1967-68; Rules Committee,
1967-74; Legislative Policy Committee (formerly Legislative Council), 1967-83.
Chair, Judicial Proceedings Committee, 1967-83.
Private Career and Other Public Service:
Served in U.S. Air Force, 1951-55. Attorney. Vice-Chair,
Maryland Higher Education Loan Corporation, 1963-92. Member, Maryland
Cuban Refugee Resettlement Committee, 1963-65; Regional Planning Council,
1963-83; Maryland Highway Safety Coordinating Committee, 1972-83; Governor's
Commission to Study Sovereign Immunity, 1975-76; Task Force to Study Circuit
Court Unification, 1976-77; Task Force on Crime, 1976-77; Governor's Commission
on Domestic Relations Laws, 1976-86; Task Force on Public Safety and Correctional
Services, 1980; Commission to Study the Judicial Branch of Government,
1981-82. Chair, Task Force to Review the Defense of Insanity, 1982-85.
Lieutenant Governor, 1983-87. Chair, Committee to Study Flexibility
for Higher Education, 1983-84. Member, State Development Council, 1983-84.
Chair, Task Force on the Drinking Driver, 1983-86. Vice-Chair, Maryland
Council on the Economy, Environment, and Energy Production, 1983-87.
Member, Governor's Executive Council, 1983-87. Chair, Task Force
on Victims' Services, 1984-85; Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, 1984-87;
Liability Insurance Task Force, 1985. Member, Joint Executive-Legislative
Task Force on Medical Malpractice Insurance, 1985; Task Force on Mentally
Ill Offenders, 1985-86. Chair, State Trade Policy Council, 1985-87;
Governor's Oversight Committee on Liability Insurance, 1986.
Attorney General, 1987-. Member, Governor's Executive Council,
1987-; State's Attorneys' Coordination Council, 1987-92; Governor's Advisory
Board for Justice Administration (formerly Governor's Advisory Board for
Justice Assistance), 1987-95; Board of State Canvassers, 1987-; Commission
on Correctional Standards, 1987-; Police Training Commission, 1987-; Correctional
Training Commission, 1987-; Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board,
1987-; State Prosecutor Selection and Disabilities Commission, 1987-; Maryland
State Employees Surety Bond Committee, 1987-. Chair, State Board of Victim
Services, 1988-92. Member, Governor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission,
1989-95. Distinguished Service Award, Mental Health Association of
Maryland, 1989. Special Achievement Award, Illinois Council Against
Handgun Violence, 1989. Pro Bono Award, Maryland's Volunteer Lawyers
Service, 1990. Elected Official of the Year, Young Democrats of Maryland,
1990. Achievement Award, American Cancer Society, 1991, 1995.
Award of Appreciation, State Board of Victim Services, 1992. Delegate,
Democratic Party National Convention, 1992, 1996. Certificate of
Appreciation, House of Ruth, 1995, 1997. Co-Chair, Family Violence
Council, 1995-. Member, Governor's Commission on Adoption, 1995;
Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, 1995-; State Board of
Victim Services, 1995-; Task Force to Study Anti-Asian Violence, 1995-98.
Lawmaker of the Year, American Heart Association, 1995-96. Member,
Governor's Task Force on Children, Youth, and Families Systems Reform,
1996; Maryland Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy, 1996-99.
Advocate of the Year Award, Smoke Free Maryland, 1997. Jack Lodge
Award (commitment to protecting Maryland's citizens from the tobacco industry),
1997. Outstanding Leadership Award, Maryland Network Against Domestic
Violence, 1997. Member, Commission to Review Landlord-Tenant Laws,
1998. Maryland Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission, 1998-;
Commission on Juvenile Justice Jurisdiction, 1998-; State Commission on
Criminal Sentencing Policy, 1999-; Honorary Co-Chair, Task Force to Conquer
Cancer in Maryland, 1999-; Task Force to End Smoking in Maryland, 1999-.
Breath of Life Award, American Lung Association of Maryland, 1999.
Personal Comments and Observations:
"The most controversial issue that I dealt with
during my 20 years in the State Senate has to be the issue of abortions.
The abortion issue first came to the attention of the Senate in 1967, when
I was Chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, and remained a controversial
issue until I left the Senate in 1983.
"I would like to think that I made a significant
contribution to the Senate of Maryland as Chairman of the Judicial Proceedings
Committee from 1967 to the time that I left in 1983. I always believed
that every issue was entitled to an open and fair hearing and that all
sides should be given a chance to address the issue, and that all issues
should be voted up and down on the merits. Even though I took exception
to the position of our committee on some bills, I genuinely believe that
the majority should rule and that controversial bills should indeed be
submitted to the floor for resolution by the entire body.
"I had several memorable humorous experiences during
my 20 years. Certainly Fred Malkus bringing to the Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee hearing on leghold traps a deceased nutria brought many laughs.
On one occasion, we had a hearing on legalizing marijuana before an entirely
packed house, only to have a State Police officer indicate to me that he
suspected several persons were smoking a controlled dangerous substance--and
he wanted to conduct a search of the people in the room. This was probably
true, but we diffused the situation by suggesting that the windows be opened
because several persons complained of the stuffy atmosphere and that they
had an asthmatic condition that required the windows to be opened.
"I am particularly proud of the efforts I led to
improve Maryland's court system with reference to the creation of the district
court and the Court of Special Appeals. I also am proud of my actions and
that of our committee in amending and making more modern and equitable
Maryland's divorce and alimony laws."
Compiled March 16, 2000 from the biographical files of the Maryland Manual, ©Maryland State Archives and from materials and photograph submitted by Attorney General Curran dated February 3 & 4, 2000.
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