Dyer v. Board of Education

BERGER, J. This appeal involves a dispute between the Howard County Board of Education (“the Board”) and Allen R. Dyer (“Dyer”), a former member of the Board. On March 3, 2011, a hearing was conducted by the Board’s Ethics Panel in response to two complaints that had been filed against Dyer. The hearing was not open to the public. Dyer brought this action in the Circuit Court for Howard County, asserting, inter alia, that the Ethics Panel violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

On appeal, Dyer presents a single question for our review, which we have rephrased as follows: ⁵³³ Whether the Ethics Panel’s March 3, 2011 hearing violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act. For the reasons set forth herein, we answer the question in the negative, and affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court for Howard County. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS The parties stipulated to an agreed statement of facts, from which we draw primarily 1 in our recitation of the facts as follows: 1. [The Board] adopted the Howard County Public Schools System Ethics Regulations, in accordance with State Law. 2. In accordance with the Ethics Regulations, the school board appoints a five-member Ethics Panel from among the residents of the County. 3.

The duties of the Ethics Panel include processing and making determinations on complaints filed by any person alleging violations of the Ethics Regulations and referring findings regarding complaints to the school board for action. 4. By letter dated December 23, 2010, Andrew Nussbaum [sic], Esquire, sent a letter to [Dyer], on behalf of the Ethics Panel, informing him that two complaints against him had been filed. 5. The letter from Mr. Nussbaum enclosed a redacted copy of the complaints, a copy of the Ethics Regulations, a copy of the Rules for the Ethics Panel, and a copy of the Rules of Procedure for Hearings Before the Ethics Panel. 6. By letter dated February 15, 2011, Mr. Nussbaum informed [Dyer’s] counsel, Harold H. Burns, Jr., Esquire, that a hearing before the Ethics Panel had been ⁵³⁴ scheduled for Thursday, March 3, 2011 beginning at 3:00 p.m. 7.

The February 15, 2011[ ] letter included the following: “I would again remind you, your client, the Complainants, and Student Board Member Alexis Adams, to whom copies of this letter are also being sent, that, pursuant to Ethics Regulations, ‘[a]ll actions regarding a complaint shall be treated confidentially.’ I would request that all parties maintain that confidentiality and that nothing regarding this matter be discussed with, or disclosed to, any other individuals.” 8. By letter dated February 24, 2011, [Dyer’s] counsel, Mr. Burns, wrote to Mr. Nussbaum stating, inter alia, that the complaints did not state any violation of the Ethics Regulations, that the discussion involved political speech protected by the First Amendment, that the Ethics Panel’s investigation of the complain[t]s should cease immediately because it infringed on [Dyer’s] constitutional right to free speech, and that the proceedings could not be confidential “vis-vis the Board itself.” 9. [Dyer] attended the March 3, [2]011 Ethics Panel hearing which was not open to the public and testified under oath. 10. The Ethics Panel hearing was transcribed by a court reporter. 11. On March 10, 2011, at 2:20 p.m., the school board met in open session, ultimately voting 5-3 to close the meeting for the reasons stated in the motion made by Board member Ellen Giles. 12. [Dyer] disagreed with the phrasing of the motion.... 13.

At the closed session on March 10, 2011, the school board received legal advice regarding release of confidential information in relation to the Ethics complaints. 14. On April 14, 2011, at 2:30 p.m., the school board met in open session, ultimately voting 6-0 to close the meeting ⁵³⁵ for the reasons stated in the motion made by Board member Giles. 17. The Board of Education of Howard County is a public body as defined by the State Open Meetings Act and is subject to the provisions of that Act. On April 15, 2011, Dyer filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Howard County alleging that the March 3, 2011 Ethics Panel hearing violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

The circuit court held a hearing on November 13, 2012 and denied all relief requested by Dyer. The circuit court’s oral ruling was memorialized in a written order dated November 15, 2012. This timely appeal followed. STANDARD OF REVIEW Maryland Rule 8-131(c) governs our review of a non-jury trial, and provides the following: When an action has been tried without a jury, the appellate court will review the case on both the law and the evidence.

It will not set aside the judgment of the trial court on the evidence unless clearly erroneous, and will give due regard to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witness. “The clearly erroneous standard does not apply to the circuit court’s legal conclusions, however, to which we accord no deference and which we review to determine whether they are legally correct.” Cattail Assocs. v. Sass, 170 Md.App. 474, 486 , 907 A.2d 828 (2006). DISCUSSION Dyer asserts that the March 3, 2011 hearing by the Ethics Panel of the Howard County Board of Education violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act. Md.Code (1984, 2009 Repl. Vol.) §§ 10-501-10-512 of the State Government Article (“SG”).

Dyer contends that the Board impermissibly delegated quasi-judicial authority to the Ethics Panel, and therefore, the Ethics Panel had no authority to conduct a hearing on a ⁵³⁶ complaint alleging a violation of ethics regulations. Dyer further asserts that, even if the delegation of quasi-judicial authority is permissible, the Ethics Regulations regarding confidentiality impermissibly abridge free speech in violation of Article 40 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. We address each of Dyer’s contentions in turn. I. We first consider whether the Maryland Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) applied to the March 3, 2011 Ethics Panel hearing.

Except for certain circumstances not presented in the instant case, the OMA does not apply to a public body when it is carrying out an administrative function, a judicial function, or a quasi-judicial function. SG § 10-503(a)(l). As we explain below, the OMA did not apply to the March 3, 2011 hearing because the Ethics Panel hearing constituted an administrative function. 2 Administrative function is defined in the OMA as “the administration of: (i) a law of the State; (ii) a law of a political subdivision of the State; or (iii) a rule, regulation, or bylaw of a public body.” SG § 10-502(b). A 2010 advisory opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General is instructive on the issue of whether the Ethics Panel hearing constituted an administrative function.

We have explained that, “[wjhile not binding ... the opinions of the Attorney General are, nevertheless, generally entitled to careful consideration.” Scott v. Clerk of Circuit Ct. for Frederick Cnty., 112 Md.App. 234, 240 , 684 A.2d 896 (1996). The Office of the Attorney General explained that a ⁵³⁷ two-step test applies for determining whether a public body has engaged in an administrative function: The Open Meetings Compliance Board, an independent advisory body charged with construing the State OMA, has developed a two-step analysis to determine whether a particular activity is an administrative function. See, e.g., 6 OMCB Opinions 145, 147 (2009); 6 OMCB Opinions 23, 25-26 (2008); see also 86 Opinions of the Attorney General 94, 115-17 (2001). The first step is to evaluate whether the meeting falls within any other function defined in the statute.

If it does, the analysis ends because, by definition, the meeting does not involve an administrative function. SG § 10-503(b)(2).[ 3 ] If the session does not involve one of the other defined functions, the second step is to evaluate whether the public body is involved in the administration of an existing law, rule, or regulation (as opposed to the development of new policy). If it is, the meeting likely involves an administrative function and the State OMA does not apply; if not, the discussion is not an administrative function and the State OMA does apply. 95 Md. Op. Att’y Gen. 152, 155-56 (2010) (emphasis added).

Similarly, the State Open Meetings Compliance Board (“OMCB”) has reasoned that ethics panel meetings constitute administrative functions, and are therefore, not subject to the OMA. 4 In a February 24, 1993 opinion, the OMCB determined that a closed meeting of the Ethics Commission of the City of College Park did not violate the OMA. The closed meeting was held in response to a complaint alleging that certain individuals violated the Ethics Ordinance of the City of College Park. The OMCB reached the following conclusion: ⁵³⁸ When the Ethics Commission of College Park sits to hear a complaint, it is administering “a law of a political subdivision of the State”—namely, the city’s own ethics law. Therefore, the Commission would be carrying out an “executive function” [ 5 ] as defined in the Open Meetings Act.

Because the Act as a whole is inapplicable, the provisions of the Act governing notice to the public and voting prior to the conduct of a closed session themselves do not apply. For these reasons, the Compliance Board finds that the Ethics Commission of College Park did not violate the Open Meetings Act in connection with its closed session on September 2,1992. 1 OMCB Opinions 93-4 (1993). The OMCB similarly concluded that a closed meeting of the Frederick County Board of Education did not violate the OMA when the Board of Education met to review the findings of its ethics panel. 5 OMCB Opinions 121