Baltimore Inspector General Sues City Hall, Seeks Records Access and Subpoena Power

Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming filed a 21-page complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on Feb. 24 seeking a judicial declaration that the Office of the Inspector General is independent under Article X of the City Charter, affirmation that the OIG has subpoena power enforceable in court, and an order forcing the city to produce unredacted records tied to OIG subpoenas.

Cumming brings the suit in her official capacity alongside Gayle Guilford, chairperson of the Inspector General Advisory Board, and James Godey, CPA, Esq., secretary of the Advisory Board; the complaint lists the OIG office at City Hall, Suite 635, 100 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 as the plaintiffs’ address. The defendants are named as the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, with the caption c/o Ebony Thompson, City Solicitor.

The complaint says a subpoena issued “last month” sought financial and payroll records from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, MONSE, and that the city produced “hundreds of pages of heavily redacted MONSE documents” instead of full compliance. The OIG press release accuses the administration of recasting OIG subpoenas as Maryland Public Information Act requests and of actions that “hampered the OIG’s ability to monitor its confidential investigative database.” “The Office of the Inspector General is the office of the people,” Cumming said in the press release.

The Daily Record reported that Mayor Brandon Scott’s office curtailed the OIG’s access to Law Department records, citing attorney-client privilege, and quoted the City saying, “Separate from the litigation, we remain eager for the Law Department to work with the OIG to outline renewed protocols that ensure the Inspector General’s work proceeds uninterrupted, while complying with state law.” The same coverage noted Attorney General Anthony Brown distanced himself from a legal advice letter the mayor cited.

Plaintiffs ask the court for declaratory relief confirming OIG independence and subpoena authority, temporary and permanent injunctions preventing the Scott administration from impeding OIG duties, a writ of mandamus to compel compliance with outstanding subpoenas, and an order that the City “fully produce, without redactions, all materials subject to subpoenas issued by the OIG, including all those presently outstanding and any subpoenas issued by the OIG in the future.” The complaint requests an expedited hearing and asks the court to advance the case under Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-409(e).

The suit comes after Baltimore voters in 2022 approved by an 87% vote changes to the Advisory Board intended to remove political officials, and follows reporting that Maryland’s four local inspectors general have urged changes to the MPIA to clarify direct access to records. WBFF’s FOX45 aired legal commentary on Feb. 27, attorney Yuripzy Morgan joined Morning News to break down the upcoming legal battle.

Plaintiffs have asked the Circuit Court to act quickly; no ruling or hearing date is reflected in the filings reviewed. The OIG press release includes reporting contacts and a hotline for fraud, waste and abuse at 443-984-3476 or 800-417-0430 and email OIG@baltimorecity.gov. “This fight is for the people and, as I always say, never underestimate the power of the people,” Cumming said, framing the lawsuit as a test of whether the City Charter’s Article X can secure the office’s independent oversight against state-law and privilege claims.