The Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic at Vanderbilt Law School, in collaboration with the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT), completed briefing in a case pending case before the Fourth Circuit, Open Justice Baltimore et. al v. Baltimore City Law Department et. al. The First Amendment Clinic and BALT are representing two journalists and Open Justice Baltimore, an organization dedicated to increasing transparency in the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), in their efforts to access records related to police misconduct.
The case arose out of a series of requests made by OJB and the reporters through the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA), Maryland’s state public records law. Faced with numerous delays, stalling tactics, and the imposition of unreasonable fees, Plaintiffs sued for First Amendment retaliation, as well as content and viewpoint discrimination, in June of 2022. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims, and Plaintiffs are now appealing to the Fourth Circuit.
This case considers whether Defendants violated the First Amendment by obstructing and denying records requests related to police misconduct. As noted in the opening brief, Plaintiffs use information from records requests to publicly criticize corruption within the Baltimore Police Department. This public activism underscores a vital First Amendment right, and the brief thus advances three main arguments: (1) Defendants retaliated against Plaintiffs for publicly criticizing the Baltimore Police Department, (2) Defendants denied access to records because those records reveal police misconduct, and (3) public officials were aware of these constitutional violations but did not act to stop them.
OJB and the journalists contend that the City of Baltimore and its agents engaged in a series of retaliatory actions to make it more difficult for individuals who had previously been critical of the police department to receive records. This retributive action, along with a practice of making it more difficult to access files with information that could be used to negatively portray the department, made it almost impossible to increase transparency in Baltimore policing. On appeal, Plaintiffs are arguing that factual disputes between the parties precluded resolution by the district court. The Fourth Circuit has previously recognized the importance of allowing discovery to unfold before factual determinations are made.
The outcome of this case will have lasting implications for the public’s ability to access vital information about police misconduct. The First Amendment Clinic continues to work on this case as it develops, remaining committed to the foundational principles of transparency, accountability, and public awareness through a free press in both Maryland and beyond.
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Vanderbilt Law School’s Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic is a nonprofit, nonpartisan legal clinic that focuses on the speech, press, and assembly rights of individuals and organizations.
Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT) is dedicated to politically-conscious lawyering and to using creative, collective solutions to support the Movement for Black Lives in Baltimore.