Baltimore judge says she’s ‘obsessed’ with inspector general’s independence, but delays ruling

A judge responsible for overseeing an increasingly bitter legal dispute between Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming declined on Tuesday to reach an immediate decision.

During an hourslong hearing, retired Baltimore Circuit Court Associate Judge Pamela White heard arguments on a motion from Scott’s administration to dismiss a lawsuit by the city’s inspector general. Cumming filed the suit against the administration in February, arguing that its officials were illegally blocking her office’s access to city documents as part of their oversight investigations.

White said she would attempt to rule on a motion to dismiss the case in the next 30 days, but warned that it may take longer.

The judge on Tuesday also told the attorneys that she was “obsessed” about how often the independence afforded to the inspector general was cited in official documents, including in voter-approved charter amendments. And the judge challenged attorneys representing the administration to prove that they weren’t ignoring that mandate.

Tuesday’s hearing was the latest trip to court for attorneys representing Scott and Cumming since the inspector general filed her lawsuit. The pair are sparring over whether Cumming should have direct access to city records like memos, emails and documents as she has enjoyed in the past.

In January, Scott’s team cut access to legal records for Cumming and her staff after officials discovered that the inspector general had “unfettered access” to a city attorney’s files. That access, City Solicitor Ebony Thompson argued, was a violation of attorney-client and work product privileges.

Weeks later, Scott further limited Cumming, this time blocking her office from direct access to all city documents. The administration cited legal advice it had received from an attorney with the Office of the Maryland Attorney General, which said Cumming was subject to the Maryland Public Information Act. That act bars public entities like the city from releasing certain records, such as personnel and financial information.

As she did during a previous hearing in April, White expressed concern that the administration was limiting the inspector general’s powers that are outlined in the city charter. Cumming, who has held the position for eight years, is responsible for investigating waste, fraud and abuse.

The charter is “clear” and “unambiguous” in its language, White said. “Are you suggesting there’s a limitation on how the OIG fulfills those responsibilities?”

City attorney Renita Collins said the inspector general was “only limited by state law,” referring to the Maryland Public Information Act.

“How does that square with my obsession with the OIG as an independent operator?” White asked.

“We are not greater than the state,” Collins responded.

Cumming’s attorneys have argued that her document requests and subpoenas should not be subject to the public information act, which is a tool used by media and the public. And even if they are, the inspector general should be considered a “de facto custodian” to city records, they said.

City attorneys suggested for the first time Tuesday that Cumming and her staff have been “riffling” through city documents that are deliberative and privileged. Collins said that Cumming’s office was found to have access to city budget documents as the budget for her office was being discussed.

Attorney Anthony May, who represented Cumming, said he was aware of no instances in which her staff were riffling through documents.

“The OIG gets over 800 case referrals a year,” he said. “They don’t have time to riffle through the Law Department’s files.”

May told the judge that the work of the inspector general has been significantly slowed by the administration’s decision to cut direct access to records. Collins said it was “patently false” that the administration was withholding records. Documents are supplied to the inspector general on a “rolling basis,” she said.

“Just because the rules make the job harder, doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply,” Collins said.

“It’s not that the job has become harder,” countered May. “It has become impossible.”