Rule of law grants late victory for Clark

Former Baltimore police Commissioner Kevin Clark was fired on Nov. 10, 2004, when then-Mayor Martin O'Malley said that domestic violence allegations against Clark, while unsubstantiated, "distracted" the ...

[Cash Kammer]

Bravo Mr. Kane.

[Fast Eddie]

Good Job

[John Armor]

This is another in a long series of fine, thoughtful articles by Gregory Kane. Would that the Sun had more reporters like him.

BTW, my first job, in the 50s, was selling the Sunpapers. And I read with great pleasure the collected works of one of the nation's best editors, ever, H.L. Mencken of the Baltimore Sun.

[heartsurgeon]

well, if the contract Clark signed to become police commissioner is invalid...then i guess Clark doesn't have a valid contract....to be commissioner!

no need to fire him, he was never validly hired...

i guess the attornies and the courts will hash this out, at taxpayer expense..meanwhile, none of "the poeples work" gets done..

typical.

adios!!

[NoFreeRides]

heartsurgeon wrote:

none of "the poeples work" gets done.

If only we were so lucky. When they're working their usually screwing us in some way.

Don't worry, the Dems that run this state have no issue with breaking the law. They have proven it time and again.

1) WalMart tax - Illegal under federal law.
2) Vote early. vote often - Unconstitutional
3) Fire PSC - Illegal
4) Fire Maryland Stadium Authority head - Illeagl
5) Fire Kevin Clark - Illegal
6) Unauthorized Senate Break during Special Session - Unconstitutional
7) Failure to honor deregulation agreement - Certain to be found as illegal.
8) Closed meeting of GBC - Illegal.
9) Firing of Greg Maddalone - Illegal

And the hits go on.

[mike-nottingham]

And as sure as the Sun rising in the East when this decision was rendered the first thing out of the mouth of the Governor was to try and put the blame on the legal advice he got from the City Solicitor when CLark was fired. He must have never heard about Harry Truman's adage about the buck stops here. Always someone else's fault with Boy Wonder.

[NoFreeRides]

mike-nottingham wrote:

And as sure as the Sun rising in the East when this decision was rendered the first thing out of the mouth of the Governor was to try and put the blame on the legal advice he got from the City Solicitor when CLark was fired. He must have never heard about Harry Truman's adage about the buck stops here. Always someone else's fault with Boy Wonder.

And as a reward he made that same city solicitor Insurance Commissioner.

[Rocket88]

Kane, you should go to school and learn something before babbling on and on when you are clueless.

The law in question was written in 1860 by a pro-Union legislature taking control of the Baltimore City police from a pro-South City government. It gave the governor the power to fire the Police commissioner for, among other grounds, misconduct, "inefficiency," or "incompetence." Later the law was amended to return firing power to the mayor, but the language regarding inefficiency and incompetence was retained.

Nothing in the statute, however, give the Commissioner civil-service status; nothing gives him a right to formal charges, notice, or a hearing. Leaving aside the question of whether periodic bouts of domestic violence constitute "misconduct," look at Clark's record and see if you can honestly state that his administration was a model of efficiency or competence!

I agree that the City's legal argument was weak, and that the mutually negotiated, arms-length contract allowing the Police Commissioner to be fired just like anyone else in Maryland was invalid. But you need to rely on something other than the remarks of one party's attorneys for your legal information or you will come across as even more biased and clueless than usual.

[GOPinionPlus blogspot com]

Acccording to Rocket88, Kane is undereducated, and the membership of both the Court of Special Appeals and the Court of Appeals are clueless.

Whew! I am glad we got that straightened out.

[GOPinionPlus blogspot com]

Heartsurgeon:

Please consult someone or something before as Lincoln siad, opening your mouth to prove that you are a fool.

An invalid clause in a contract does not necessarily void the entire contract if the contract can be fulfilled without the clause. The subject contract contained a clause that violated public law and policy. Voiding the clause did not strip the employer of means to remove the employee. It replaced the offensive clause with the terms of the alraedy existing governing statute.

I thank goodness that neither me nor mone need a heartsurgeon.

Sincerely,

BLR

[max power]

NoFreeRides wrote:

<quoted text>

9) Firing of Greg Maddalone - Illegal
And the hits go on.

Har! the ice dancer with no relevant experience? yeah, right. you must really miss ehrlich's buffoons. HIS was the administration that exemplified illegal firing: remember Joe Steffen?'nuf said.

[NoFreeRides]

max power wrote:

<quoted text>
Har! the ice dancer with no relevant experience? yeah, right. you must really miss ehrlich's buffoons. HIS was the administration that exemplified illegal firing: remember Joe Steffen?'nuf said.

Except none of Ehrlich's firings were deemed illegal even though the Dems made it their mission to say they were.

O'Malley already has at least 3 illegal firings under his belt.