Attorneys

Biography

Steve Mercer has focused his law practice on the use of scientific evidence in criminal and civil litigation. Nationally recognized as an expert on complex mixtures of touch DNA, Steve has more than two decades of trial, appellate, and post-conviction experience in both private practice and public service. From 2010 to 2017, he served as Chief Attorney of the Forensics Division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, regarded as a national model of excellence in forensic science litigation.

Steve has challenged a wide range of forensic evidence, including DNA mixtures, presumptive serology and drug tests, hair and fiber comparison, cell phone tracking, and purported evidence of shaken-baby syndrome. His work goes beyond methodology, encompassing all avenues to limit or neutralize forensic evidence. In 2002, he litigated the first constitutional challenge to Maryland's DNA collection statute, paving the way for his later role in Maryland v. King before the U.S. Supreme Court, described by one Justice as "perhaps the most important criminal procedure case in decades."

Beyond the courtroom, Steve has led successful legislative reform, including Maryland's 2019 Justice Reinvestment Act and efforts to ban familial DNA searching in Maryland and D.C. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and training seminars for judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and forensic analysts, and his views on DNA privacy and technology have been featured by Sixty Minutes, HBO Vice, PBS, MSNBC, and ABC News.

Steve has presented at the Maryland Judicial Training Institute, the FBI's national CODIS symposium, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the National Institute of Justice. In 2016, Steve addressed the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to the federal Subcommittee on Forensic Sciences' working group, Steve continues to advocate for meaningful reforms in the area of forensic evidence. 

Steve's criminal defense practice includes white collar cases and investigations.

Recognition

Pro Bono Public Award, Whitman Walker Clinic, Washington, DC

Service

David A. Clarke School of Law, Scientific Evidence, Adjunct Professor

State of Maryland, Education, Ethics, and Terminology (EET) Interagency Working Group, 2011 - 2012

Memberships

American Academy of Forensic Sciences

American Bar Association

Maryland State Bar Association

Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney Association

Montgomery County Bar Association

National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys

Prince George's County Bar Association

Events

Presenter, "Complex Mixtures of Touch DNA," Maryland Judicial Training Institute

Presenter, "Privacy and Racial Justice Implications of Familial Searching of DNA Databanks," FBI's National CODIS symposium

Presenter, "Privacy and Racial Justice Implications of Familial Searching of DNA Databanks," American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Presenter, "Privacy and Racial Justice Implications of Familial Searching of DNA Databanks," National Institute of Justice

Presenter, "Use of Scientific Evidence in Criminal Trials," United States President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), 2016
 

Publications

Co-author, "Shadow Dwellers: The Underregulated World of State and Local DNA Databases," New York University Annual Survey of American Law, Volume 69, Issue 3, New York University, 2014

Author, "Maryland's DNA Databank," Maryland Business Journal, Nov./Dec. 2004