Stephen H. Sachs


Stephen H. Sachs is a former Maryland politician and former Attorney General of Maryland.

Background

Sachs was born in Baltimore City, the son of Shirley and Leon Sachs. He is Jewish. Sachs was educated at Haverford College and Yale Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1960.

Career

Sachs served as Assistant US Attorney from 1961 to 1964. He was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Maryland in 1967, serving until 1970. He prosecuted the Catonsville Nine in 1968.
Sachs returned to private practice in 1970. During Watergate Sachs represented former Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray.
Sachs was elected the 40th Attorney General of Maryland in 1978 and was reelected in 1982. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1986 Maryland gubernatorial primary with Parren Mitchell as his running mate, losing to eventual general election winner William Donald Schaefer.
Sachs was a partner in the firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from 1987 until his retirement in 1999. In 1989 and 1990 Sachs represented Dr. Elizabeth Morgan in a well-publicized international child custody case. In 1999 Sachs was an attorney representing Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in the investigation of allegations that Babbitt lied to Congress.
In 2008, Gov. Martin O'Malley appointed Sachs to head an independent review of Maryland State Police infiltration of activist groups that were acting lawfully.