28 Facts About Ivan Bates

Ivan Jules Bates was born on September 1968 and is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the State's Attorney of Baltimore since 2023.

Ivan Bates was honorably discharged from the Army in 1988.

Ivan Bates left to become a defense attorney for the law firm of Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, and Ravenell, and worked on the US Supreme Court case Maryland v Blake.

Ivan Bates represented Baltimore Police sergeant Alicia D White, one of six police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in April 2015, and several clients victimized by the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force, whose members in 2017 were federally indicted and convicted of racketeering.

In June 2019, Ivan Bates testified before the commission to Restore Trust in Policing, recommending a number of state laws to prevent corruption in Baltimore's criminal justice system.

Ivan Bates ran on a platform of supporting community policing and curbing gun violence.

In March 2018, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill ruled that Ivan Bates had lived in the city since 2016 and was qualified to run for state's attorney.

In May 2018, Ivan Bates released a campaign ad in which he claimed that he had "never lost a murder case".

Ivan Bates came under fire for this claim, as online court records show that Bates prosecuted eight murders and dropped five of them.

Ivan Bates defended his claims by providing additional court records that list him as a prosecutor in homicide cases against Lynelle Whiting and Gregory Everett in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Ivan Bates later threatened to sue the two other candidates in the race, Vignarajah and Mosby, and the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper for defamation, calling the claims made by the candidates related to his murder cases were "absolute lies".

Ivan Bates was defeated in the Democratic primary on June 26,2018, placing second behind Mosby with 28.1 percent of the vote.

On November 18,2021, Ivan Bates announced that he would again run for state's attorney, challenging incumbent state's attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Ivan Bates supports improving the technology used in the state's attorney's office, including software programs that would add subtitles to police body camera videos.

Ivan Bates unveiled a prosecution plan in March 2022, which includes cracking down on gun violence and restarting prosecutions for nonviolent crimes such as drug possession, prostitution, and trespassing, promising mandatory prison sentences for people convicted on gun charges.

Ivan Bates sought to increase collaboration with the Baltimore Police Department to reduce violent crime.

Ivan Bates stressed during the campaign that these policies did not mean the city would be returning to a tough-on-crime mindset that leads to mass incarceration, with many cases being funneled to diversion courts to connect people with alternative treatment services.

Ivan Bates defeated incumbent state's attorney Marilyn Mosby and Democratic challenger Thiruvendran Vignarajah in the Democratic primary on July 19,2022, receiving 40.9 percent of the vote.

Ivan Bates was to face Independent candidate Roya Hanna in the general election, but she dropped out and endorsed Ivan Bates shortly after his primary win, clearing his path to victory.

Ivan Bates was sworn in as state's attorney on January 3,2023.

In July 2022, Ivan Bates told The Baltimore Banner that he planned to drop the controversial case against Keith Davis Jr.

On January 13,2023, Ivan Bates ended the State's Attorney's office's prosecution of Davis, dropping all charges against him.

In March 2023, Ivan Bates endorsed an anti-crime package introduced by the Maryland Republican Party, which included bills strengthening penalties for gun theft and repeat violent offenses.

In July 2023, amid a mass shooting in Baltimore that killed two and injured 28, Ivan Bates released a statement expressing his condolences and calling for gun control and policies targeting repeat violent offenders.

In May 2018, Ivan Bates told the Rolling Stone that he would drop charges against Adnan Syed, the Serial podcast host who was serving life in prison for his initial conviction in the killing of Hae Min Lee in 1999.

In February 2025, Ivan Bates announced that his office was withdrawing a previously filed motion to vacate Syed's conviction.

Ivan Bates however said he supported Syed's motion for a reduced sentence under the state's Juvenile Restoration Act, which provides a pathway to release for people serving long prison terms for crimes committed when they were minors.

Hours before Ivan Bates was sworn in as State's Attorney of Baltimore, he was hospitalized and treated for dehydration.