Doug Gansler

Some legal commentators said that the Court of Appeals’ decision would have a chilling effect on public safety and the public's right to know. They said that the decision failed to account for prosecutors’ responsibility to report to the public on prosecutions they carry.

Gansler worked to keep consumers safe from healthcare scams. This work included the largest recovery in a healthcare fraud investigation in U.S. history against a major pharmaceutical company that illegally marketed drugs at the expense of consumer safety. It also included multimillion-dollar victories against healthcare providers who abused Medicaid at taxpayers’ expense, and others that preyed on the infirm. Gansler also advocated for better healthcare options for Marylanders, both through his Health Education and Advocacy Unit, and through his leadership in supporting broader healthcare solutions like the Affordable Care Act.

As President of NAAG, Gansler focused the organization’s attention on privacy in the Digital Age. He formed a Committee on Internet Privacy at NAAG to keep close watch on developments in the Internet space that affect consumers’ control over their information, and headed several efforts to hold accountable those who fail to properly respect consumer privacy online. He called attention to companies that collect information from children in ways that appear out of compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Born in Summit, New Jersey, Gansler grew up in Chevy Chase in Montgomery County, Maryland. There he attended Chevy Chase Elementary School, and Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school in the Washington, D.C. area, for grades 6–12. From Sidwell, Gansler went to Yale University. He was an All-Ivy, All–New England College lacrosse player, and nurtured an interest in public service, graduating cum laude. Gansler earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He was a law clerk to Hon. John F. McAuliffe, Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Gansler formally announced his candidacy in the Maryland's 2014 Gubernatorial race to succeed Martin O'Malley, who was term limited, on September 24, 2013. Gansler had a warchest of $5.2m and said that he was "flattered by the depth and breadth of support I have received from all corners of Maryland". Gansler was criticized by a Maryland veterans organization for suggesting that his leading opponent in the Democratic primary, Maryland Lt Gov. Anthony G. Brown, a former US Army Reserve Colonel, was "somebody who has never managed anybody, never run anything", as a result of his service. Gansler later explained that his comments were specifically in reference to managing the state's health exchange. Brown won the Democratic primary, but was defeated by the Republican Party candidate in an upset in the general election.

Gansler was elected to serve as President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) in 2012. He served as Chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) until becoming President-Elect at the NAAG. He also chaired NAAG committees on Youth Access to Alcohol, the Environment and Energy.

Gansler was elected to a second term on November 2, 2010, receiving 1.3 million votes. In that election, he was the only statewide candidate in the nation to run unopposed in both the primary and general elections.

Gansler was the first statewide elected official in Maryland to support marriage equality. In 2010, Gansler issued a legal opinion that clarified Maryland's ability to provide full faith and credit to valid out-of-state same-sex marriages. That opinion provided the underpinning for a subsequent Maryland Court of Appeals decision recognizing same-sex marriages from other states. For his early and strong support of marriage equality, Gansler received the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award.

During the 2008 presidential election, Gansler was the first statewide official in Maryland to support Barack Obama, and went on to be the Maryland Co-Chair, with Representative Elijah Cummings, of Obama’s Presidential Campaign.

Gansler was elected as Maryland Attorney General in 2006, taking the oath of office as Attorney General of Maryland on January 2, 2007. While in office, he focused on environmental protection, consumer protection, public safety, and civil rights. He prosecuted polluters of the Chesapeake Bay, protected consumers from various forms of fraud, and safeguarded the public from gangs, violent crime, and the so-called underbelly of the Internet.

In 1998, Gansler was elected State's Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland, serving from January 1999 to January 2007. While serving, he prosecuted several high-profile cases, including the Beltway snipers, John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Under his leadership, the office was the first in the nation to fully implement community prosecution. Gansler also launched innovative and successful programs to fight gangs, punish criminals, and protect the public, including the first domestic violence dockets and first drug courts in the county, a first-in-the-state gang prosecution unit, the first Elder Abuse Task Force in Maryland to target criminals preying on seniors, and the first Internet crime unit in the state.

After working for a brief period as a real estate lawyer at a title company and at the law firms of Coburn & Schertler and Howrey & Simon, Gansler was hired as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, serving from 1992 to 1998. There he prosecuted, among others, a Georgian diplomat who killed a young woman while driving drunk near Dupont Circle.

Douglas Friend Gansler (born October 30, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 45th Attorney General of Maryland. Gansler previously served as the State's Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland from 1999 to 2007. He won nomination in the state Democratic primary election for Attorney General and defeated Republican Scott Rolle in the 2006 general election, taking 61% of the vote. He was re-elected unopposed in the 2010 election. Gansler lost the Democratic Primary race for Governor of Maryland on June 24, 2014 to Anthony G. Brown.