Opinion ID: 1991137
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Law Enforcement Officer's Bill of Rights

Text: The Maryland General Assembly enacted the LEOBR in 1974 for the purpose of providing that all law enforcement officers have certain rights, 1974 Md. Laws, Chap. 722, [7] and for provid[ing] a law-enforcement officer [8] . . . with substantial procedural safeguards during any inquiry into his [or her] conduct which could lead to the imposition of a disciplinary sanction. Miner v. Novotny, 304 Md. 164, 173, 498 A.2d 269, 273 (1985) (emphasis added). In Moats v. City of Hagerstown, 324 Md. 519, 530, 597 A.2d 972, 977 (1991), we held that [t]he language, legislative history and comprehensive nature of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights establishes that the procedures provided by the Act are an officer's exclusive remedy in matters of departmental discipline. Included within the procedural safeguards of the LEOBR is the right to a hearing before a hearing board, if there is a possibility that the investigation or interrogation of the officer will result in a recommendation of demotion, dismissal, transfer, loss of pay, reassignment, or similar action that is considered punitive, as well as the right of the officer to receive notice from the agency of his right to a hearing by the hearing board. Md.Code (2003), § 3-107 of the Public Safety Article. Some of the other notable procedural protections afforded to officers include the right to be informed in writing of the nature of an investigation prior to any interrogation, the right to reasonable limitations on the structure, time, and place of an interrogation, the right to a complete written or transcribed record of any interrogation, the right to be notified of the name of any witness and all charges and specifications against the officer not less than ten days prior to any hearing, and the right to a copy of the investigatory file and any exculpatory information. Mohan v. Norris, 386 Md. 63, 67-68, 871 A.2d 575, 577-78 (2005); Md.Code (2003), § 3-104 of the Public Safety Article.