In a major blow to Mayor Brandon Scott and City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela J. White tonight denied their request to disqualify independent counsel representing Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming, thereby allowing Cumming’s lawsuit against the city to proceed.

Judge White issued the order shortly before 6 p.m., saying that the defendants’ motion to disqualify H. Mark Stichel and Anthony J. May as counsel for the lawsuit filed on behalf of Cumming and two members of the IG Advisory Board was based on the arguments she heard at this morning’s hearing.

During the hearing, White expressed skepticism of the city’s position that only the city solicitor can litigate on behalf of the city. She asked how this position squared with two charter amendments, overwhelmingly approved by voters, that granted the inspector general the power to independently write and enforce subpoenas.

Court records show that Cumming repeatedly asked for independent counsel to pursue her case for records from the Scott administration, but was denied by Thompson.

In February, the IG Advisory Board approved the hiring of pro-bono attorneys to represent Cumming in the lawsuit now before White, which seeks to enforce OIG subpoenas. including for unredacted financial records from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and its SideStep program.

If White had ruled in favor of the city, the Cumming lawsuit would have effectively ended. By denying the motion, her lawsuit to force the Scott administration to respond to her subpoenas can proceed.

Below is the judge’s one-page order. For a detailed report on today’s court hearing, see here.