Park & Planning v. Anderson

• Citation: 909 A.2d 694,395 Md. 172
• Decision Date: 19 October 2006
• Docket Number: No. 112, Sept. Term, 2005.,112, Sept. Term, 2005.
• Parties: MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION v. Kathleen ANDERSON.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

909 A.2d 694

395 Md. 172

MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION v. Kathleen ANDERSON.

No. 112, Sept. Term, 2005.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

October 19, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

William C. Dickerson, Associate General Counsel (Adrian Robert Gardner, General Counsel, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, on brief), Riverdale, for petitioner.

Michael Marshall (Schlachman, Belsky & Weiner, on brief), Baltimore, for respondent.

Argued before BELL, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA and GREENE, JJ.

GREENE, J.

This matter arises from the Maryland-National Capital Park Police Commission's ("Commission") petition for judicial review of an Administrative Hearing Board's ("Board") decision. The issue before this Court is whether a conflict exists between the Law Enforcement Officer's Bill of Rights ("LEOBR"), Md.Code (2003) § 3-101 et. seq. of the Public Safety Article, and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), Md.Code (1984, 2004 Repl.Vol.), § 10-222 of the State Government Article, when an agency pursues an administrative complaint against one of its employees, and after an administrative hearing at which the tribunal enters a finding of "not guilty," the agency seeks judicial review of that decision. The Board, comprised of three police officers from the Commission's Prince George's County Park Police Department,¹ heard a case brought against fellow officer Kathleen Anderson, who was charged with violating the police department's vehicle pursuit policy. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board entered a finding of "not guilty."

On July 25, 2003, the Commission petitioned the Circuit Court for Prince George's County for judicial review of the Board's decision. Officer Anderson filed a Motion to Dismiss, and the Circuit Court granted Officer Anderson's motion. On March 18, 2003, the Commission petitioned the Court of Special Appeals for judicial review. That court affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court. Maryland-Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Comm'n v. Anderson, 164 Md.App. 540, 545, 884 A.2d 157, 160 (2005). The Commission then filed in this Court a petition for writ of certiorari,² which we granted. Park and Planning v. Anderson, 390 Md. 500, 889 A.2d 418 (2006). For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

While on duty on September 8, 2001, Officer Kathleen Anderson conducted a registration check on a vehicle and found that the license plates had been reported stolen. She attempted to pull over the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop. The driver exceeded the 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, crossing back and forth across the center lines of the road. Officer Anderson followed the car, staying within a distance of one-to-two car lengths. During the pursuit, the occupants abandoned the vehicle and fled the area on foot. The vehicle continued moving until it crashed into a fence and a telephone pole, causing it to stop. Officer Anderson then stopped her vehicle. Officer Anderson stated that, while following the vehicle, she did not see any other vehicles on the road and that there was no other vehicle traffic or pedestrians present. Officer Anderson stated that she was still "one or two" car lengths behind the vehicle when it struck the telephone pole and that the entire incident lasted "between seven and [ten] minutes" and the length of "maybe two and a half" miles. She also stated that she did not ignore any traffic control devices in attempting to get the vehicle to stop, and estimated that her top speed was "between 35 and 40 [m.p.h.]," in contrast to the posted speed limit of "25 to 30 [m.p.h.]."

The Department conducted an investigation of Officer Anderson's September 8, 2001, activity and charged her with violating the provisions of the Department's vehicle pursuit policy.³ As required by § 3-107 of the LEOBR,⁴ an administrative board, comprised of park police officers, conducted a hearing on March 13 and 14, 2003, concerning the charges filed against Officer Anderson. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board issued an oral finding of "not guilty." On June 30, 2003, the Board entered its written decision.

On July 25, 2003, the Commission petitioned the Circuit Court for Prince George's County for judicial review of the Board's decision. On November 3, 2003, Officer Anderson filed a Motion to Dismiss, asserting "[t]hat the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission . . . is not a party to this case and therefore lacks standing to appeal," and "[i]n the alternative, that the Administrative Hearing Board entered a finding of not guilty which terminates this action and [the Commission] has no authority to appeal its own decision." In its response, the Commission asserted that it "was a party to the administrative action and therefore ha[d] standing to appeal to this Honorable Court," and "[t]hat the Administrative Hearing Board's finding of `not guilty' terminated the action and constituted a final decision from which the Commission properly appealed to this Honorable Court."⁵

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Judge Eldridge, writing for this Court in Maryland Aviation Admin. v. Noland, 386 Md. 556, 873 A.2d 1145 (2005), reiterated the standard of review for administrative agency decisions: "[a] court's role in reviewing an administrative agency adjudicatory decision is narrow . . . it `is limited to determining if there is substantial evidence in the record as a whole to support the agency's findings and conclusions, and to determine if the administrative decision is premised upon an erroneous conclusion of law.'" United Parcel v. People's Counsel, 336 Md. 569, 576-77, 650 A.2d 226, 230 (1994). See also Md.Code (1984, 1995 Repl.Vol.), § 10-222(h) of the State Government Article. This Court, and any other court reviewing administrative decisions, "shall apply the substantial evidence test to the final decisions of an administrative agency, but it must not itself make independent findings of fact or substitute its judgment for that of the agency." Balt. Lutheran High Sch. Ass'n v. Employment Sec. Admin., 302 Md. 649, 662, 490 A.2d 701, 708 (1985). See also Md. Comm'n on Human Relations v. B.G. & E., 296 Md. 46, 51, 459 A.2d 205, 209 (1983) (stating that "a party can resort to a court only when there is a final order in the administrative proceeding").

In the instant case, we must decide whether a Board's finding of "not guilty" entitles the Commission to seek judicial review of that decision under the LEOBR or the APA. In addition, we must examine both statutes to determine if the judicial review provisions of the APA conflict with the judicial review provisions of the LEOBR.⁶ The resolution of these issues requires statutory interpretation. Interpretation of a statute is a question of law, and, therefore, we review the decision of the Circuit Court de novo. Moore v. State, 388 Md. 446, 452, 879 A.2d 1111, 1114 (2005); see also Salamon v. Progressive Classic Ins. Co., 379 Md. 301, 307, 841 A.2d 858, 862 (2004).

DISCUSSION

The parties dispute whether, under the LEOBR, the Commission may seek judicial review of the Board's finding of "not guilty." Section 3-108 of the LEOBR, entitled "Disposition of administrative action," states that "[a] finding of not guilty terminates the action." Officer Anderson asserts that this provision means that the agency may not seek judicial review of a finding of "not guilty." The Commission contends that the provision simply indicates the point at which the administrative action is final and therefore ripe for judicial review. The Commission also argues that an agency is authorized by the APA to seek judicial review, but Officer Anderson maintains that the LEOBR supersedes the APA, and therefore does not allow review under the circumstances.

A. Statutory Construction

We turn first to the principles of statutory construction. Our goal when engaging in statutory interpretation is "to ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature." Johnson v. Mayor of Balt. City, 387 Md. 1, 11, 874 A.2d 439, 445 (2005); O'Connor v. Balt. County, 382 Md. 102, 113, 854 A.2d 1191, 1198 (2004).

As this Court has explained, "[t]o determine that purpose or policy, we look first to the language of the statute, giving it its natural and ordinary meaning." State Dept. of Assessments and Taxation v. Maryland-Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Comm'n, 348 Md. 2, 13, 702 A.2d 690, 696 (1997); Montgomery County v. Buckman, 333 Md. 516, 523, 636 A.2d 448, 452 (1994). This step is the point in statutory construction "with which the search for legislative intent begins, and ordinarily ends." FOP, Montgomery County Lodge No. 35 v. Mehrling, 343 Md. 155, 174, 680 A.2d 1052, 1062 (1996). "When the statutory language is clear, we need not look beyond the statutory language to determine the Legislature's intent." Marriott Employees Fed. Credit Union v. Motor Vehicle Admin., 346 Md. 437, 445, 697 A.2d 455, 458 (1997).

If the language of the statute is ambiguous, then "courts consider not only the literal or usual meaning of the words, but their meaning and effect in light of the setting, the objectives and purpose of [the] enactment [under consideration]." Mehrling, 343 Md. at 173-74, 680 A.2d at 1062 (quoting Tucker v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 308 Md. 69, 75, 517 A.2d 730, 732 (1986)). In construing a statute, "we seek to avoid constructions that are illogical, unreasonable, or inconsistent with common sense." Frost v. State, 336 Md. 125, 137, 647 A.2d 106, 112 (1994).

In addition, "`[t]he meaning of the plainest language is controlled by the context in which it appears.'" State v. Pagano, 341 Md. 129, 133, 669 A.2d 1339, 1341 (1996) (citations omitted). As this Court has stated,

[b]ecause it is part of the context, related statutes or a statutory scheme that fairly bears on the fundamental issue of legislative purpose or goal must also be considered. Thus, not...