Charles County Commissioner Thomasina O. Coates filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Maryland Supreme Court on August 18, 2025, seeking review of a permanent injunction that prohibits her from participating in decisions related to County Administrator Mark Belton. The Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed the Circuit Court for Charles County’s October 17, 2023, order on June 30, 2025, but remanded for revision of a declaratory judgment on Coates’ counterclaim. The case stems from a 2020 investigation into workplace allegations, leading to restrictions on Coates’ involvement in Belton’s employment matters.
The dispute originated in early 2020 when Belton, appointed as Charles County administrator in 2019, alleged Coates created a hostile work environment through abusive communications, including racially discriminatory remarks. Coates countered with claims of racial bias against Belton. The Board of County Commissioners retained Bernadette Sargeant, an attorney with Stinson LLP and former counsel to the U.S. House Ethics Committee, to investigate. Sargeant’s May 25, 2020, report substantiated Belton’s allegations while finding Coates’ claims unsupported.
On June 9, 2020, the Board voted 4-1 to adopt the Prompt and Remedial Action, or PRA, excluding Coates from input on Belton’s performance evaluations, contract negotiations, or other employment decisions. The PRA also required Coates to route communications through the Board president or vice president and barred direct contact with Belton. The measure lacked a sunset provision and was recorded only in closed-session minutes. The Board amended its Rules of Procedure to prohibit discriminatory or harassing behavior by commissioners toward employees.
Tensions escalated on December 13, 2022, during a closed Board session where Commissioners Reuben B. Collins II, Ralph E. Patterson II, and Coates voted to terminate Belton without cause. County Attorney E. Wesley Adams III declared the vote invalid due to the PRA. Commissioners Amanda M. Stewart and Gilbert O. Bowling, with Board approval, filed suit on December 30, 2022, seeking enforcement of the PRA through declaratory judgment and injunction. Belton intervened as a plaintiff on January 9, 2023.
The Circuit Court issued a temporary restraining order on February 15, 2023, and, following a bench trial, entered the permanent injunction on October 17, 2023. The order incorporated PRA terms and prohibited Coates from voting to repeal it. Coates appealed the same day.
In its reported opinion, the Appellate Court affirmed the injunction, classifying the PRA as valid administrative action to address personnel issues, consistent with anti-discrimination laws under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act. The court found plaintiffs had standing under the Maryland Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, rejecting arguments of non-justiciable political questions or separation of powers violations. It dismissed First Amendment claims, noting the PRA was administrative, not legislative. The court determined Belton was an employee, not a policymaking appointee, applying the Eighth Circuit’s test from cases like Stillians v. Iowa. Procedural rulings limiting discovery to PRA enforcement were upheld, as evidence on the investigation’s validity was deemed irrelevant. However, the court vacated the dismissal of Coates’ counterclaim, remanding for a declaratory judgment aligning with its findings.
Coates’ petition argues the Appellate Court erred on the Board’s authority to adopt the PRA without statutory basis, separation of powers, First Amendment implications, standing, Belton’s employee status, and the PRA’s arbitrary nature. She contends the injunction represents judicial overreach, permanently diminishing an elected official’s powers without legislative support under Maryland Local Government Article Section 10-303(c).
Charles County operates under code home rule, governed by five commissioners elected at-large to four-year terms. The Board holds legislative and executive powers, with the administrator managing daily operations. Belton, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2019, oversees county departments.
The case highlights governance challenges in Southern Maryland, where Charles County’s population of about 166,000 relies on balanced Board decisions for services like public safety and economic development. Legal experts note such injunctions are rare, emphasizing courts’ role in enforcing administrative measures to prevent discrimination.
