Maricé Morales
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Maricé Morales ( ; born June 12, 1987) is an
attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
and a politician from
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
. She represented District 19 in the Maryland House of Delegates and is currently running for Montgomery County Council District 6.


Early life and education

Maricé Ivette Morales was born in Arlington, Virginia, in 1987. Her father is from Chimbote, Peru, and her mother is from Chiclayo, Peru. She lived in Peru from age 12 to 17, when she returned to the United States to attend college. Morales graduated from
George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
with a bachelor's degree in Global Affairs and French and a master's degree in public policy. She received a
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the University of Maryland School of Law and received a public service award from the law school. While in law school, Morales competed in the National Latina/o Law Student Association's sixth annual moot court competition.


Career

Morales served as Senate Special Assistant to District 19 Senator
Roger Manno Roger P. Manno (born April 26, 1966) is an American politician. He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2006 to represent the 19th Legislative District, and in 2010 was elected to the Maryland State Senate. Background Roger P. M ...
. She also worked as a prevailing wage investigator for the District of Columbia Building Construction Trades Council. Morales ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014, to represent the state's 19th legislative district, which includes parts of Silver Spring, Aspen Hill, and Gaithersburg. She ran to replace Sam Arora, who did not seek reelection. Morales supports equal educational opportunities for all Marylanders. She also emphasizes labor laws protecting immigrants from exploitation. Her candidacy was endorsed by CASA in Action, Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO, Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, United Auto Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1994, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland PAC, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland, Maryland Votes for Animals, and Maryland League of Conservation Voters. '' The Washington Posts editorial board endorsed her campaign. Morales won the general election, and her term of office began on January 14, 2015. For her first term of office, Morales is a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, the Family Law Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, and the Women Legislators of Maryland. In addition, Morales joined the newly formed Maryland Latino Legislative Caucus, a
caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
formed to express the views of the Latino community, increase Latino voting, support Latino businesses, and support Latinos in local leadership. Morales co-sponsored the " Death with Dignity Act", which would allow a licensed health care professional to withhold or withdraw a medically administered life-sustaining procedure to an adult with a terminal illness if the person requests so, both orally and in writing, witnessed by two individuals. The
Death with Dignity National Center Death with Dignity National Center is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, that has led the legal defense of and education about Death with Dignity laws throughout the United States for more than ...
supports the bill, calling it a tremendous comfort to patients who are terminally ill and to their families. The Maryland Catholic Conference is opposed to the bill, saying the bill does not require medical professionals to assess the patient for depression, it does not require an independent witness when administering the dose, and it does not require patients to notify family members. Morales sponsored the Maryland Law Enforcement and Governmental Trust Act, which would have left immigration enforcement to federal authorities rather than state and local police. It also would have required federal authorities to have a warrant in order to transfer an undocumented immigrant from state or local authorities to federal authorities. The aim of the bill was to help undocumented immigrants feel like they can call the police or 911 when they are a victims of a crime without being afraid of being arrested themselves on immigration charges. State and local police could still arrest and detain perpetrators of state and local crimes, regardless of their immigration status. The Trust Act passed the Maryland House of Delegates, but the Maryland Senate did not vote on it, and it did not become law. Morales was a member of the Workgroup to Study Safe Harbor Policy for Youth Victims of Human Trafficking. The Workgroup is studying the subject of minors who are victims of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
and what legal protections and services Maryland should offer them. Morales did not win reelection in 2018. In the Democratic primary election, where the top three candidates advance to the general election, Morales came in fourth place with 16 percent of the vote. After the election, Morales started a law firm that specializes in immigration law, criminal law, accidents, traffic violations, and
DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
s. In 2019, Governor
Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...
appointed Morales to the
board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of Montgomery College. Her six-year term began in 2019. Morales also serves on the board of directors of Emerge Maryland, an organization that recruits and trains women to run for elected office as Democrats in Maryland.Board of Directors
. ''Emerge Maryland''. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
Morales is running to represent District 6 on the Montgomery County Council in the 2022 election.Tan, Rebecca (June 16, 2021).

. ''The Washington Post''.


Election history


2014 primary election


2014 general election


2018 primary election


References


External links


Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Marice 1987 births American lawyers American politicians of Peruvian descent George Mason University alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Maryland Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Arlington County, Virginia People from Silver Spring, Maryland University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Women state legislators in Maryland 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians