BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The Appellate Court of Maryland denied Baltimore City’s latest attempt to pause a court order requiring the Scott administration to restore the inspector general’s access to City systems and respond to outstanding subpoenas.
The two-page order, filed Friday evening, rejected the City’s renewed emergency motion to pause Senior Judge Pamela White’s September 21 order while the City appeals.
The three-judge appellate panel found the City had failed to establish one of its central arguments for putting Judge White’s ruling on hold.
“The City’s motion is denied because the City has not demonstrated that it will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay,” the appellate court wrote.
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The ruling capped a week of rapidly escalating court action in the months-long fight between Scott’s administration and Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming.
Earlier Friday, FOX45 News questioned Mayor Scott about concerns from people who are following the legal saga and wondered whether the administration’s continued fight over the OIG’s access should be viewed as an attempt to keep something hidden.
“I’m not hiding anything,” Mayor Scott responded. “I’m fighting for Baltimoreans to have a system that works.”
Mayor Scott described the ongoing appeal as part of the legal process and said his administration would ultimately follow the law.
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“This is just a legal process,” he said. “And when this legal process is done, we will follow the law that is given to us through that legal process here.”
Hours later, the appellate court rejected the administration’s latest request to put Judge White’s order on hold.
Judge White’s underlying ruling requires the City to restore system permissions previously held by the Office of Inspector General and produce records responsive to OIG subpoenas issued in 2025 and 2026.
The City appealed that ruling and has repeatedly sought to prevent the order from taking effect while the appeal moves forward.
Earlier this week, the Appellate Court temporarily paused Judge White’s order while waiting for her to decide the City’s initial stay request. After Judge White denied that request Thursday, the City returned to the appellate court with a renewed emergency motion.
City attorneys argued that complying before the appeal is decided could expose attorney-client communications, work product and other confidential information that could not later be protected if the City ultimately was successful.
The appellate court addressed that concern directly Friday.
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“We do not interpret the circuit court’s ruling to require the City to grant the Office of the Inspector General access to, or otherwise produce to the Office of the Inspector General, attorney-client privileged communications or work-product generated in this litigation,” the appellate panel wrote.
The court also said it interprets Judge White’s ruling as preventing the OIG from further disclosing documents containing privileged or confidential information.
The latest decision follows a week of dueling emergency filings over the OIG’s access to City records.
The City has argued that responding to outstanding subpoenas on White’s timeline could require reviewing more than 2.1 million emails and cost between approximately $1.9 million and $3.6 million. It also argued in its latest filing that without a stay it could face “the threat of an order of contempt from the circuit court.”
The OIG disputed those arguments Friday, again calling the potential review cost “a creature of the City’s own making” and arguing direct access would eliminate the need for the review process the City says could cost millions.
The possibility of contempt has also emerged as the fight over compliance continues.
In its renewed appellate filing, the City itself cited “the threat of an order of contempt from the circuit court” as one reason an immediate stay was necessary.
Attorney Kurt Nachtman, who is not affiliated with the case, previously told FOX45 that if the OIG does not receive the records required by the order, it could potentially seek contempt proceedings. Nachtman said possible consequences could include monetary fines and attorney’s fees, though no contempt finding or such penalties have been imposed.
FOX45 asked Scott about that possibility Friday.
“We will follow the court, Mikenzie. We will follow the court,” Mayor Scott responded.
The City’s appeal remains pending. But after Friday evening’s decision, both Judge White and the Appellate Court of Maryland have declined the City’s requests to put her September 21 order on hold while that appeal proceeds.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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