Watch CBS News

Director Of AG's Civil Rights Office Resigns

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- The head of the Maryland attorney general's civil rights office has announced he is retiring, a decision that comes in the aftermath of legal problems.

Carl Snowden released a statement by email Friday saying that he plans to retire effective Jan. 8.

Snowden, a longtime Maryland civil rights leader, has a Jan. 7 court date on charges of violating his probation in a 2010 drunken driving case. Snowden also was convicted last month by a Baltimore jury of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He received a suspended 60-day sentence and a year of probation.

Snowden had been given probation before judgment in the 2010 case, but the judge erased that after being told it was an illegal sentence because of Snowden's previous probation for driving under the influence in 2003.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.