Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission v. Anderson

947 A.2d 149, 179 Md. App. 613, 2008 Md. App. LEXIS 49
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedMay 5, 2008
DocketNo. 955
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 947 A.2d 149 (Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission v. Anderson, 947 A.2d 149, 179 Md. App. 613, 2008 Md. App. LEXIS 49 (Md. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

DAVIS, J.

This appeal is from a May 30, 2007 Order of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County dismissing a complaint for declaratory judgment, injunction and mandamus relief filed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (Commission) to obtain review of the finding of an Administrative Hearing Board (Board) that appellee, Officer Kathleen Anderson, et al.,1 was “not guilty” of unauthorized vehicular pursuit of a fleeing suspect.2 Following the Board’s “not guilty” finding, the Commission petitioned the circuit court for judicial review. The petition was dismissed for lack of statutory right to judicial review. This Court affirmed its dismissal. The Court of Appeals granted certiorari and, in concluding that the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR) is the exclusive remedial scheme governing disciplinary actions against law enforcement officers and that, under the LEOBR, there is no statutory right to judicial review of “not guilty” findings, the Court affirmed the judgment.

As an alternative mechanism for review, the Commission filed the complaint, naming appellee and the Board as defendants, seeking declaratory, injunctive and mandamus relief under a common law right to review. In response, appellees, along with the Administrative Hearing Board, filed a joint motion to dismiss. On May 30, 2007, the circuit court dismissed the complaint. On appeal, the Commission presents the following issue, which we have consolidated and rephrased: 3

[619]*619Whether the circuit court erred in dismissing the Commission’s complaint for mandamus relief.

For the reasons that follow, we shall affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Although a recitation of the underlying facts is unnecessary for a resolution of the issues presented, they are set forth for the purpose of setting forth the genesis of this appeal. Appellee is an officer of the Prince George’s County Park Police Department (Department), a division of the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. On September 8, 2001, appellee attempted to pull over a vehicle after running a registration check on the vehicle and learning that the license plates had been reported stolen. When the vehicle failed to stop, appellee activated her siren and pursued the speeding vehicle as it crossed back and forth over the center line of the road. Appellee indicated that she proceeded at a top speed of “between 35 and 40 [m.p.h.]” in the twenty-five to thirty miles-per-hour posted speed limit zone. The entire incident lasted “between seven and [ten] minutes” over a stretch of “maybe two and a half’ miles. The chase ended when the driver’s vehicle crashed into a fence and a telephone pole and the driver abandoned the moving vehicle and fled on foot. At that point in time, appellee stopped her police cruiser.

The Department charged appellee with 'violation of its vehicle pursuit policy.4 A hearing was conducted on March 13 and [620]*62014, 2003, by an administrative board, comprised of three park police officers, as required by the LEOBR5. Appellee and four witnesses were called to testify at the hearing. A videotape of the incident obtained from appellee’s police cruiser was also admitted into evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board exonerated appellee of the charges. On June 20, 2003, the Board issued a written opinion, setting forth its factual findings in support of its “not guilty” finding.

The Commission, aggrieved by the decision, petitioned the Circuit Court for Prince George’s- County for judicial review. Appellee responded with a Motion to Dismiss on grounds that the “not guilty” finding terminated the action. In addition, appellee argued that the Commission lacked standing to appeal a case to which it was not a party and, furthermore, that it was not entitled to judicial review of its own decision.6 The court held a hearing on February 19, 2004. During the hearing, the Commission argued, in the alternative, entitlement to a common law right to review through a writ of mandamus. The court expressed its belief that mandamus was inappropriate at that juncture given that the right to judicial review under the LEOBR had not yet been determined; accordingly, the court decided that mandamus was not ripe for review.7 Ultimately, the court concluded that the “finding of not guilty terminates the action and is not a final judgment that makes the action of the Trial Board ripe for appeal by the law enforcement agency” and, therefore, granted appellee’s motion for dismissal.

[621]*621Following the dismissal, the Commission noted an appeal to this Court for judicial review. We affirmed the circuit court’s judgment. Md.-Nat’l Capital Park and Planning Comm’n v. Anderson, 164 Md.App. 540, 884 A.2d 157 (2005) and the Court of Appeals granted certiorari to consider whether the Board’s decision was subject to judicial review. Md.-Nat’l Capital Park and Planning Comm’n v. Anderson, 395 Md. 172, 909 A.2d 694 (2006). While the Court of Appeals’ decision was still pending, the Commission, on June 28, 2006, filed a complaint, naming appellee and the administrative hearing board as defendants, seeking declaratory, injunctive and mandamus relief as alternative mechanisms for obtaining review. The Commission subsequently filed a motion to stay all proceedings until the Court of Appeals reached its decision because the Commission’s complaint would be rendered moot if the Court concluded there was a statutory right of review.

A. The Court of Appeals’ Decision

The Court of Appeals’ decision focused on the right to judicial review under two statutory schemes, the LEOBR and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), codified in Md.Code Ann. (1984, 2004 RepLVol.), § 10-222 of the State Government Article. The Court concluded that the LEOBR superseded the APA in matters of disciplinary actions brought against law enforcement officers and that, under the LEOBR, “not guilty” findings are not subject to review.

Before arriving at this conclusion, the Court undertook an extensive examination of the statutory schemes, beginning with the legislative intent behind the enactment of the LEOBR. The underlying purpose of the Maryland General Assembly’s enactment of the LEOBR was to provide law enforcement officers with procedural safeguards during disciplinary proceedings. Anderson, 395 Md. at 183-84, 909 A.2d 694; see also Miner v. Novotny, 304 Md. 164, 173, 498 A.2d 269 (1985). Those safeguards include a right to an administrative hearing in cases where an “investigation or interrogation of a law enforcement officer results in a recommendation of demotion, dismissal, transfer, loss of pay, reassignment, or [622]*622similar action that is considered punitive,” prior to the law enforcement agency taking any action against the officer. Md.Code Ann., Public Safety § 3-107(a)(l) (2003).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In the Matter of Homick
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2022
In re Declaratory Ruling re SDCL 62-1-1(6)
2016 SD 21 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2016)
Petition for Declaratory Ruling
2016 SD 21 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2016)
Baker v. Montgomery County
30 A.3d 267 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
947 A.2d 149, 179 Md. App. 613, 2008 Md. App. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maryland-national-capital-park-planning-commission-v-anderson-mdctspecapp-2008.