The Maryland Appellate Court has knocked down the Scott administration’s latest effort to prevent Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming from accessing online city records.

A three-judge panel of the high court denied this morning the requested protective order “because the Office of the Inspector General is prohibited from using its access to view the City’s attorney-client communications or work-product generated in this litigation and because it appears the City is able to determine whether the Office of the Inspector General violated that prohibition.”

In other words, the “irreparable harm” cited by city attorneys is moot, the court ruled, because such material cannot be publicly disclosed or used in litigation by the IG.

In seeking the emergency protective order, the Scott administration argued that its IT department could not technologically “wall off,” or separate, potential attorney-client or work-product material related to the litigation from other data.

As a result, City Solicitor Ebony Thompson asked the Appellate Court to stay, or pause, Circuit Court Judge Pamela J. White’s order to restore online records access to Cumming’s office until after the lawsuit is settled.

This marks the third defeat for the Scott administration at the appellate level in nine days.

UPDATE: The Office of the Inspector General today (10/1/26) has withdrawn its motion asking for the Scott Administration to be held in contempt. Asked if this means the office has regained access to city servers, Cumming said, “yes.”

“The office has regained access,” Cumming told The Brew. “We are grateful for the public’s support.”

• See here for our full coverage of the dispute.

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Text of Appellate Court’s Decision