Maryland court rejects Baltimore's bid to halt legal process in inspector general dispute

Maryland's Appellate Court rejected on Monday a request by Baltimore City to pause legal proceedings in an ongoing dispute with the city's Inspector General Isabel Cumming.

The mayor and city council of Baltimore filed a motion for the court to pause the legal process while the city seeks an appeal.

In its ruling, the Appellate Court of Maryland said it was denying the city's motion "because the order in question is not appealable as an order in the nature of an injunction."

The mayor and city council had requested that the appellate court order a halt to legal proceedings in Baltimore City Circuit Court while it pursues an appeal of a lower court ruling.  

Speaking to reporters Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he was aware of the appellate court's decision and respected it. Scott noted that he found it notable that the court said in its opinion that it found the previous order in the matter "wasn't an injunction, which is why they didn't want to hear the appeal at the moment."

The mayor said the city still intends to pursue other aspects of the case. We'll go forward with the case on Wednesday. It's that simple."

Last month, a judge ruled against Baltimore City in its request to clarify and reconsider an order that required the city to provide Inspector General Isabel Cumming with information she subpoenaed for various investigations.

Earlier this month, Mayor Scott defended his administration's efforts to keep some information out of the public eye amid the ongoing legal battle with Inspector General Cumming.  

He said the inspector general has made broad requests for information and accused Cumming of turning the routine disclosure process into a media circus. He said the inspector general has issued dozens of requests without clearly defining the scope of the investigations.

Scott has claimed the city has tried for months to work with Cumming and the OIG board to fulfill the requests, but said she has refused. He added that the city has "nothing to hide" and described previous court rulings as a normal part of the legal process.

"Pursuing these overly-broad requests just so she can complain in the media that the city isn't fulfilling them fast enough is a waste of our time, her time, and everyone else's time," Scott said.