Profile of Robert C. Bonsib

ROBERT C. BONSIB, ESQ. - VETERAN MARYLAND CRIMINAL LAWYER

OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE AS A FEDERAL AND LOCAL PROSECUTOR

AND AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has over 30 years of experience in handling all types of criminal matters from those in the misdemeanor and felony courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia to the most complex of federal financial and white-collar investigations and trials.  He is experienced in trial and appellate as well as post-conviction matters.   Whether you are seeking representation to defend against a DUI, assault, or drug possession or other misdemeanor charge, or more serious allegations invovling, homicide, serious sex, narcotics or violent offenses,  whether you need assistance in responding to a federal grand investigation or whehter you need an aggressive and battle-tested trial or appellate lawyer, Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has the experience and repuation to assist you.  For an overview of the types of legal matters Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has handled and for an overview of his many awards and recognitions, please go to the "Cases, News and Articles" section of this website or click here (Cases, News and Articles)

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. is a 1971 graduate of Indiana University and a 1974 graduate of the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America.  He was admitted to the bar of Maryland in 1974.  He is also currently a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Fourth Circuit, the United States District Courts of Maryland and the District of Columbia and of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 

After being admitted to the bar, Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. spent ten years as an Assistant States Attorney for Prince Georges' County.  He was promoted to the position of Chief of the Felony Trials Division, a position in which he supervised the prosecutors who were responsible for handling the most serious cases in the State's Attorneys Office.  In 1983 he accepted a position as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.   As an Assistant United States Attorney he handling federal criminal matters at both the trial and appellate level.  In 1987, then newly elected State's Attorney Alexander Williams, Jr. (now United States District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr.), in one of his first hiring decision, asked Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. to accept the position of Deputy States Attorneys for Operations in the Prince George's County State's Attorneys Office.  Mr. Bonsib accepted the postion, the second highest position in the States Attorney's Office, and for three years he was responsible for supervising over fifty prosecutors as well as the investigative staff of the Prince George's County State's Attorneys Office.

In 1990 Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. joined Bruce L. Marcus, Esq. and formed the law firm of Marcus & Bonsib (now MarcusBonsib, LLC).  Since that time, Mr. Bonsib has devoted his practice to the defense of federal and local criminal matters. On any given day, Mr. Bonsib may be in federal court arguing a complex pre-trial motion or in the local courts representing a client charged with DUI.  Unlike some attorneys who limit their practice to a particular type of case, such as DUI, or who only practice in either the local or federal courts, for over thirty years Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has been representing individuals and organizations in both federal and local trial and appellate courts.  In addition to appearing in the federal and trial courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia, he has also represented clients in the federal courts in Virgina, Georgia and Minnesota (in association with local attorneys ilicensed to practice in each of those jurisdictions).  Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. is equally experienced and comfortable appearing in any trial or appellate, local or federal court in this area.

In addition to handling a wide variety of criminal matters, some of which are reviewed in the Cases, News and Articles section of this website, Mr. Bonsib is active in a variety of court and bar assocation committees and activities.  He has repeatedly been asked by the United States District Court of Maryland to participate in selection committees for applicants for the position of United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland.  He was appointed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to serve on the selection committee for the postion of Federal Public Defender for Maryland.

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. is past Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association and a past Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the Prince George's County Bar Association.  He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney's Assocation and a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Prince George's County Bar Association. 

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has written extensively on criminal law topics for the newsletters of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys' Association and for the Prince George's County Bar Association.  He has lectured and participated as an instructor at continuing legal education programs for prosecutors, law enforcement agencies as well as for criminal defense lawyers.  In 2007, for the second time he was invited to present , together with two Maryland Circuit Court judges, a day-long training program on "Handling the Criminal Trial" for the Maryland Judicial Institute.  He was the only member of the private bar invited to participate in this training program attended by over forty Maryland Circuit and District Court judges.  The Maryland Judicial Institute is the official training agency for the Maryland judiciary.

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has been recognized as an expert in the investigation and defense of criminal matters.   He was accepted as an expert in such matters by the Circuit Court for Prince George's County and testified as expert in a post-conviction proceedings in which an individual sought to have his first-degree murder conviction vacated and a new trial ordered.  Based, in part, on the testimony and opinion of Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. regarding the deficiencies in the representation of the accused's original trial lawyer, a new trial was ordered.

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has served for over ten years on the Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Intructions Committee.  This committee, chaired by a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, drafts the standard criminal jury instructions used by judges throughout Maryland as the principal guide for instructing juries as to the law to be applied in criminal cases.  

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has been an instructor for the Maryland Professionalism Course, a mandatory course for all new admittees to the Maryland bar.  This course instructs new lawyers as to the importance of professionalism and civility in the practice of law.

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has twice been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the region's top criminal lawyers.  He has been repeated ranked by "THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA" as one of the best criminal lawyers in both white collar and non-white collar criminal defense.   He is listed in "WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA."   He has been the recepient of the John Adams award for service to the CJA program of the United States District Court for Maryland and has twice received the President's Award for service to the Prince George's County Bar Assocation.

From 1990 to 1995, Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. served as legal counsel to the Citizen Complaint Oversight Panel.  This Committee was charged with the responsibility of overseeing investigations into allegations of police misconduct and with reporting on whether such investigations were conducted in a thorough, fair and impartial manner.

Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. was a member of the American Bar Association's Search Warrant Project.  This Project published a manual to guide judges in the issuance of search warrants. 

Mr. Bonsib is regularly consulted by members of the local media for comments regarding current issues pertaining to criminal law or significant criminal cases.

Over his three decades of criminal trial experience, Robert C. Bonsib, Esq. has tried hundreds of jury trials and argued dozens of appeals in the local and federal courts.  For an experienced criminal lawyer and for a criminal defense attorney who has the ability to provide assistance in federal and local criminal matters, contact Robert C. Bonsib, Esq.