Judge rules in favor of Baltimore Inspector General's access to city records, expresses frustration with case

A judge ruled in favor of Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming on Wednesday, saying she will order the city to grant the Inspector General's Office (OIG) access to its computer systems and will require it to respond to subpoenas.

The decision comes as the latest development in a months-long legal battle between Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and his allies against Cumming.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela White granted summary judgment in the inspector general's favor in almost every respect during the hearing Wednesday morning, adding she is "deeply disappointed" in the city's arguments in the case. 

Cumming's attorney, Anthony May, called the ruling "a win for transparency for all of Baltimore." 

"Thank you to the people of Baltimore for their unwavering support, and we thank the court today for its careful time and attention to this very important matter," May said. 

An exasperated judge

White appeared frustrated at the city's case and its explanations for suddenly cutting off access to the inspector general in January. 

She told Renita Collins, the primary attorney representing the city in the case, that she was "making no sense" in some of her arguments and said she was "stunned" at the distrust from the city for the inspector general.

White repeatedly noted the inspector general should have access to records to complete investigations without revealing the targets of those probes. 

"Wow!" White exclaimed at Collins during one exchange.

White said there is "no reason to delay" the inspector general's work. She is expected to lay out a timetable when she finalizes her ruling in written form.

Mayor Scott responds to judge's ruling

The mayor's office reacted to White's ruling, saying the city will "always follow the law" but it still has "serious concerns" about oversight for the OIG. 

"We have made it clear from the beginning that we will always follow the law. The City was previously already working to fulfill outstanding subpoenas, and we will ensure that work is completed in a timely manner," Scott said in a statement following Wednesday's hearing. "The City will review the Court's written order once it is provided, and will explore all options at that time."

Earlier this month, the mayor defended his administration's attempts to keep some information out of the public eye. He said the inspector general made broad requests for information without clearly defining the scope of the investigations, and he accused her of turning the routine disclosure process into a media circus. 

"We maintain serious concerns about the lack of true oversight of the Inspector General's access to and use of records. As the City raised in court, the Inspector General has repeatedly abused her previous unfettered access to information and violated attorney-client privilege for personal motives. Those concerns have not been addressed," Scott said in Wednesday's statement. 

The mayor added he will continue to push for legislation that would "improve the way Inspectors General access information, while building in safeguards to protect sensitive information and concerns about abuse of power."

"No official should be afraid of oversight, and no official, including the Inspector General, should be beyond it," his statement continued. 

"Not going to play into any notion of distrust"

During Wednesday's hearing, White said there should be more trust in the OIG.

"The element of distrust by the city … for the IG, is not well received by the court. I am not going to play into any notion of distrust by the city for the work or independence for the IG," the judge said.

White also said she will issue an order for city officials to hand over documents related to the Sidestep youth program, which was overseen by the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE). 

Nearly 180 pages of the documents had been redacted by the city after lawyers argued there was information about juveniles and medical records that should be kept out. The city had said it cooperated and resolved the MONSE records request, but OIG attorneys insisted it did not.

Since January, the inspector general has issued 19 subpoenas -- 11 of which were to the Baltimore City department that handles information technology. One subpoena was to MONSE seeking Slack communications. 

The inspector general has also sought emails from 36 employees. So far, the city only provided emails for one of them. 

Collins, the city attorney, argued it is time consuming to go through every email to make sure there is no attorney-client privilege or other protected information. Collins said city officials asked Cumming to narrow down the request but claimed she was uncooperative. 

Cumming's legal team argued that all could have been avoided if the city would have restored Cumming's access to Baltimore's computer servers. 

Councilman Mark Conway in support 

Scott did not show up to the court proceedings Wednesday and neither did members of the city council, with the exception of Councilman Mark Conway.

Conway has been a vocal supporter of Cumming and has told WJZ Investigates he has faced retaliation because of it, including the loss of his chairmanship of the powerful Public Safety Committee. 

"It's vindication for all the work that we've been doing for accountability and transparency for the inspector general's office," Conway told WJZ Investigates after the ruling. "I think we are all disappointed in the way the inspector general's office has been characterized. I think the back-and-forth on this issue — how it's been politicized — is dangerous for true accountability and transparency and honesty."

Conway has proposed a new ballot measure to further strengthen the inspector general's mission. 

Despite his position, he offered praise to Collins for defending Baltimore's case. 

"I think she tried to do her best to make the arguments that she could, but the facts were pretty soundly in the inspector general's favor on this matter, and I think they tried to do the best they could with what they had. It just wasn't a very strong argument to begin with," Conway said.

The city council president has denied Conway was removed from his chairmanship over his support of Cumming.