Court Filings

As a public service, TLR is making available copies of selected documents filed in the court cases resulting from the question of whether District 2 Commissioner Thomasina Coates (D) is allowed to vote on the employment contract of County Administrator Mark Belton after having been administratively barred from doing so by the rest of the board. Here are the key moments from the various cases:

  • On Dec. 30, 2022, District 3 Commissioner Amanda M. Stewart (D) and District 1 Commissioner Gilbert Bowling III (D) filed a lawsuit in Charles County Circuit Court seeking a judge’s ruling on whether Coates should be allowed to participate in such a vote. On Feb. 3, 2023, Coates appealed the judge’s interim temporary restraining order to the Appellate Court of Maryland. The appellate court dismissed the appeal as moot on Sept. 29, and the circuit court granted Stewart’s and Bowling’s request for a permanent injunction on Oct. 17.
  • That same day, Coates filed a notice of her intent to appeal the circuit court ruling. The Appellate Court of Maryland heard oral arguments on Oct. 7, 2024 and on June 30, 2025 issued its opinion affirming the judgment of the Circuit Court for Charles County in part, vacating it in part, and remanding the judgment for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. The Clerk of the Appellate Court issued its mandate on Aug. 1, 2025.
  • On Aug. 18, 2025, Commissioner Coates filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of Maryland. The court denied the petition on Oct. 27, 2025.

The key documents in the respective cases can be found here:

TLR‘s coverage of the cases, which are referred to collectively as “Stewart et al. v Commissioners,” can be found here.