Baltimore mayor seeks protective order as inspector general pushes for access to city records
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said his administration filed a motion for a protective order in the ongoing legal battle with Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming over access to city records.
The mayor's office argues that restoring Cumming's full access to records, including Baltimore City Law Department files related to the case, would be an "obvious and flagrant breach of the attorney-client privilege."
Scott's administration has already filed two appeals seeking to block or delay Cumming's access to the records.
Cumming has asked a judge to hold the mayor's office in civil contempt for failing to fully comply with a court order requiring the restoration of her office's access. She is seeking a fine for each day the city fails to comply.
Mayor argues records should remain protected
In a post on social media, Scott said the motion for a protective order includes an affidavit from Baltimore City Information Technology stating that restoring the Office of the Inspector General's access could also give the office access to files and communications related to the litigation.
According to the motion, there is no way to separate the files, emails, communications and other work product related to the case while also giving the inspector general's office full access to city employees' email communications, including those of city attorneys.
The motion also says the OIG has accessed Law Department files in the past and that Cumming has publicly maintained that she has a right to do so.
Court orders city to restore access
The dispute dates back to January, when Scott's administration cut off Cumming's access to legal records after city officials discovered that the inspector general had access to a city attorney's files.
Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson argued that access violated attorney-client and work-product protections. The administration later restricted Cumming's direct access to other city records as well.
Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela White recently ruled that the city must restore Cumming's access to its computer systems and comply with subpoenas issued by her office.
The city appealed White's ruling and twice sought to delay enforcement while the case is pending.
The Maryland Appellate Court denied the city's second request Friday, saying the administration had not demonstrated that it would suffer irreparable harm without a stay.
The court also said it did not interpret White's ruling as requiring the city to provide Cumming with attorney-client privileged communications or litigation work product.
Cumming seeks contempt finding
On Monday, Cumming filed a motion asking White to hold the city in civil contempt, saying the administration had failed to restore her office's direct access to city records as ordered.
She described the failure as "voluntary and intentional" and asked the judge to impose a daily fine.
Scott, however, said Monday that his administration had already begun the process of restoring access.
City says access restoration was underway
Baltimore City Information Technology contacted the OIG Monday morning to facilitate the restoration, Scott said.
Emails shared by the mayor show that BCIT asked an OIG employee to complete a form to restore access.
Scott said the OIG later filed its contempt petition after several exchanges between the two offices about the process.
The mayor said the OIG indicated it needed additional time to complete its portion of the process.
"I will probably need to work with the team tomorrow to iron out some of the password resets," an OIG employee wrote, according to The Baltimore Banner. "I will test as soon as I am able with the accounts I have regained access to with the understanding that they will not be fully restored until later this evening."
However, Cumming's court filing said her attorneys had sent city officials a letter Sunday demanding that records be provided by 1 p.m. Monday. Her filing characterized the city's failure to comply as "voluntary and intentional."
Scott: "I'm not hiding anything"
Scott said Monday that access should have already been restored.
"We are always going to follow the law and immediately I ordered them to do just that," Scott said.
Scott also rejected any suggestion that he is trying to conceal information.
"I'm not hiding anything," Scott said. "I'm fighting for Baltimoreans to have a system that works. There's a system that exists, like the one that exists in Howard County and in Baltimore County."
