Author: JGL Law

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake has been representing clients in suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia for almost 50 years. With offices in Greenbelt and Rockville, Maryland, we have lawyers who focus their practices in diverse areas of the law, including employment and whistleblower actions, family law, estates and trusts, civil rights, business planning and commercial litigation, personal injury, medical and professional negligence.

In this episode, Tim Maloney & Nick Bernard answer the following questions: 

1. What laws allow individuals to sue the police for wrongdoing?
2. What sorts of wrongdoing by police is actionable?
3. How do these laws vary from state to state, and how is Maryland different from other states?
4. What are the differences between a private lawsuit against a police officer, and a criminal trial of a police officer?
5. What is the process like for the person suing? What are some of the upsides and downsides?
6. What is injunctive relief, and how can a civil suit be used to change police departments that have problematic policies or practices?

JGL LAW FOR YOU brings you up close and personal with our lawyers who will be discussing how to navigate the many legal processes,  developments in the law, other current events and how they may affect you.

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake has been representing clients in suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia for almost 50 years. With offices in Greenbelt and Rockville, Maryland,  we have lawyers who focus their practices in diverse areas of the law, including employment and whistleblower actions, family law, estates and trusts, civil rights, business planning and commercial litigation, personal injury, medical and professional negligence.

JGL LAW FOR YOU brings you up close and personal with our lawyers who will be discussing how to navigate the many legal processes,  developments in the law, other current events and how they may affect you.

Partners, Steven Pavsner, Brian Markovitz, and Erika Jacobsen White obtained a favorable decision from the Supreme Court of Maryland on behalf of almost 1,000 workers who were forced to ride a bus to the jobsite and were not paid for their time.

We are delighted to congratulate 15 of our attorneys for being selected by their peers for inclusion in the 27th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America:

Appellate Practice

Greenbelt, MD

Timothy Maloney

Levi S. Zaslow

Family Law

Rockville, MD

David Bulitt

Jeffrey N. Greenblatt

Anne E. Grover

Reza Golesorkhi

Allison McFadden

Rama Taib-Lopez

Collaborative Law: Family Law

Rockville, MD

David Bulitt 

Family Law Mediation

Greenbelt, MD

Barbara Jorgenson

Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs

Greenbelt, MD

Andrew E. Greenwald

Burt Kahn

Steven M. Pavsner

Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Greenbelt, MD

Debora Fajer-Smith

Stephen A. Friedman

Andrew E. Greenwald

Burt Kahn

Steven M. Pavsner

Trusts and Estates

Greenbelt, MD

Timothy P. O’Brien

 

All lawyers named to The Best Lawyers in America© publication were recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in 146 practice areas. For the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, 8.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in the inclusion of more than 62,000 lawyers, or approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the United States.

The selection of these lawyers in this prestigious peer-reviewed publication continues to demonstrate the quality of the legal services that we provide at JGL and our unswerving dedication to client service.

Successfully obtained a judgment in a bench trial in the amount of $233,500.00 on behalf of a Personal Representative to an estate where the decedent’s estranged step-daughter wrote herself a check in the amount of $230,000 from the decedent’s account using a power of attorney the day before the decedent passed.

GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 10, 2020 — The preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for this Friday in Federal court has been cancelled by United States District Court judge George J. Hazel at the request of the parties.

“The County Health Officer’s rescission of his latest closure order eliminates the need for any emergency hearing,” said Timothy F. Maloney, attorney for the plaintiffs.  “The case will remain pending as we see how the County Health Officer treats religious and private schools going forward.”

“Now is not the time for litigation but for cooperation,” said Maloney. “Schools and parents seek to collaborate with the County Health Officer as they make safe reopening decisions.” 

“Nonpublic schools have invested extraordinary resources in their reopening plans.  Each has made independent decisions appropriate to their own circumstances, including classroom instruction, hybrid learning and remote learning, consistent with CDC and State health guidelines.  We believe the County Health Officer will be impressed by the extraordinary investment and planning undertaken by these schools, and their commitment to the safety of the community.”

Timothy F. Maloney

Attorney at Law

Office in Greenbelt, MD

Direct Dial: (240) 553-1107

Direct Fax: (240) 553-1737

Email: tmaloney@jgllaw.com

GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 7, 2020  — The Montgomery County Health Officer today rescinded his order prohibiting religious and private schools from conducting in-person classes.  The order was the only one of its kind in the country. Plaintiffs were represented in this case by Timothy F. Maloney and Alyse Prawde of Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A.

The Health officer’s order was the subject of an emergency injunction hearing in Federal Court scheduled for Friday, August 14, 2020. Counsel will be reviewing the Health Officer’s new order before decisions are made about the status of the hearing and the Federal lawsuit.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had issued a revised emergency order on Monday concerning clarifying local authority concerning religious and private schools.  In issuing the order, Governor Hogan stated that religious and private schools should be free to make their own to make their own reopening decisions, consistent with CDC and State Health guidelines. Maryland Secretary of Health Robert Neall directed all county health officers to follow the governor’s order as established State health policy.

“Wisdom is always welcome, no matter how late it arrives,” said Timothy F. Maloney, counsel for the plaintiffs who challenged the Health Officer’s order. “This is a victory for the more than 22,000 students in Montgomery County and their families who are committed to their religious and private education.  Their schools are now prepared to make safe reopening decisions based upon CDC and State guidelines.”

Timothy F. Maloney

Attorney at Law

Office in Greenbelt, MD

Direct Dial: (240) 553-1107

Direct Fax: (240) 553-1737 

Email: tmaloney@jgllaw.com

GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 5, 2020 — The United States District Court for the District of Maryland has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing next week on Friday, August 14, 2020 at 10 a.m.  At the hearing, the Court will consider plaintiffs’, represented by Joseph Greenwald & Laake, request to enjoin the Montgomery County Health Officer’s order prohibiting classroom instruction at religious and private schools in Montgomery County.  

The hearing will be held before Federal Judge George J. Hazel.  An announcement will be made later concerning the logistics of the hearing to ensure safe public access.  The hearing has become necessary because the Montgomery County Health Officer has so far failed to comply with Governor Hogan’s revised emergency order, which removes any potential legal authority for the Health Officer’s blanket closure order.

The Health Officer’s order is the only one of its kind in Maryland – or the country – which targets religious and private school classroom instruction for closure.  The Health Officer issued this order while allowing restaurants, bars, day care facilities, colleges to remain open.  There have been no Covid-19 reported cases in Montgomery County religious and private schools.

The Health Officer has continued to assert that he has authority independent of the Governor to issue a blanket order shutting down classroom instruction in all religious and private schools.  The Health Officer now has State-retained private counsel who has asserted that the Health Officer has independent authority for his order.¹ At a press briefing today at 12:30 p.m. with the County Executive, the Health Officer stated that “as it stands today, the order has not been rescinded.” 

The Health Officer issued an order on Friday, July 31 at 7:58 p.m. prohibiting all religious and private schools in Montgomery County from conducting in-person classroom instruction until October 1, 2020.  The order was effective Monday morning, August 3, 2020 at 6:00 a.m.  The order included criminal penalties for violation of the order, including fines and incarceration.  The Health Officer had made no meaningful review of private schools’ detailed safe reopening plans before issuing his order.

In issuing his order, the Health Officer premised his authority on Governor Hogan’s emergency executive order that had been issued on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, which gave political subdivisions the authority to issue more stringent restrictions “requiring any businesses, organizations, establishments, or facilities to close and/or modify their operations” than the State requirements.

Since the pandemic began, Governor Hogan’s emergency executive orders have not applied to schools. Instead, school reopenings have been subject to detailed guidelines issued by the State Superintendent of Schools, Karen B. Salmon. In the Maryland School Reopening Plan, she advised religious and private schools that they should make their own determinations as to how and when to reopen, consistent with CDC and State guidelines.

On Monday, August 3, 2020, Governor Hogan issued a revised emergency executive order in response to the Health Officer’s order.  The revised order exempted schools from the new authority given to political subdivisions in his Wednesday order.  Governor Hogan made it clear that the Health Officer’s order was “inconsistent with the power intended to be delegated” to the County:

Private and parochial schools deserve the same opportunity and flexibility to make reopening decisions based on public health guidelines. The blanket closure mandate imposed by Montgomery County was overly broad and inconsistent with the powers intended to be delegated to the Health officer. 

When he learned about the Governor’s Monday order at a press conference, the Health Officer was publicly dismissive. He stated that, “It doesn’t matter if we see the tweet.  It doesn’t matter if we see the statement.”  Despite Governor Hogan’s clear and unequivocal statement and order, the Health Officer has refused to rescind his unlawful order.

On Friday, the Health Officer expressly premised his emergency order on the Governor’s July 29 executive order.  The Health Officer is a State employee.  He is jointly appointed by the State.  He is paid by the State.  He is required by State law to carry out State health policy.  Since the Governor clarified his executive order on Monday, the Health Officer has been openly insubordinate.  He has defied clearly articulated State health policy.

Governor Hogan has made it explicitly clear that State policy does not permit blanket closures of religious and private schools and that each school can make its own reopening decisions “as long as schools develop safe and detailed plans that follow CDC and state guidelines.”  The Maryland State Department of Education’s “Recovery Plan for Maryland Education” makes it clear that each private school has the right to make its own reopening decisions consistent with CDC and State Department of Education guidelines.

The Health Officer’s continued refusal to comply with the law and the Governor’s order is creating continued chaos and confusion for thousands of Montgomery County families and the schools they have chosen.  As schools are ready to reopen, the Health Officer’s continued failure to rescind his illegal order exacerbates the confusion he created Friday night.  This uncertainty has been created because the Governor has issued a clear directive but the Health Officer has refused to comply.

The Health Officer must act immediately to unequivocally and irrevocably rescind his unlawful order. The failure of the Health Officer, a State employee, to follow clearly established State policy and the explicit directive of the Governor, constitutes insubordination.  He should not continue in office if he cannot comply with the Governor’s clear directive and the State’s established health policy.

The rule of law is important. If the Health Officer cannot follow the law and the clear directive of the Governor, plaintiffs will seek an order from the Federal court enforcing the law.

Statement of Counsel for Plaintiffs

Beahn, et al. v. Gayles, et al.

¹ Because the County Health Officer is a State employee, actions against a county health pfficer are usually defended by the Office of the Maryland Attorney General. In this case, the Maryland Attorney General has determined that private counsel to represent the Health Officer.

Timothy F. Maloney

Attorney at Law

Office in Greenbelt, MD

Direct Dial: (240) 553-1107 Direct Fax: (240) 553-1737 

Email: tmaloney@jgllaw.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

Timothy Maloney; TMaloney@jgllaw.com

Phone: 301-220-2200

          JGL Represents Two Black Women Who Were Mistreated by Secret Service Last Week, Calls for Immediate Investigation

GREENBELT, MD. August 3 2020 — — Joseph Greenwald & Laake has called upon the U.S. Secret Service to investigate an incident last Thursday evening, July 30, in which uniformed Secret Service officers deliberately rammed their cruiser into a car near the National Mall in Washington, DC, and then aimed a rifle at two young Black mothers who were in the car.

A letter sent by Joseph Greenwald principal Timothy F. Maloney on August 1 to James M. Murray, director of the Secret Service, asks Murray to explain why a Secret Service agent deliberately rammed the cruiser into the women’s car, why agents pointed a rifle at the women, why they handcuffed the women, and why they separated the women from their crying babies for at least 45 minutes.

No charges were ever filed against the mothers, Yasmeen Winston and India Johnson, who had simply driven down to the Mall together with their infants on a summer evening to see the fountains and were parked legally on Constitution Avenue, near 17th Street NW, across from the White House. Both are represented by Joseph Greenwald & Laake.

The officers did not inform either woman of her rights, the letter says, and the Secret Service searched the trunk of their car without permission and without legal justification.

“Throughout the entire incident, the demeanor of the uniformed Secret Service officers was arrogant, angry and condescending,” Maloney wrote in his letter. “There were, of course, no apologies or explanations from the officers for their behavior. By contrast, a Park Police officer on the scene appeared genuinely concerned for the welfare of the two women and their babies and was very professional.”

Maloney wrote, “Women who take their babies to the Mall need to know that their vehicles will not be rammed by the Secret Service, that they will not have rifles pointed at them and their babies, and that they will not be handcuffed without suspicion of a crime or legal justification, and that their children will not be placed at risk of harm.”

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 50 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has represented individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

Timothy Maloney; TMaloney@jgllaw.com

Phone: 301-220-2200

JGL Files Lawsuit on behalf of Montgomery County parents & schools

GREENBELT, MD. August 4, 2020 — A group of Montgomery County parents and Montgomery County religious schools filed a suit in Greenbelt Federal court this evening seeking an injunction against Montgomery County’s order closing classroom instruction in religious and private schools.

The suit alleges that the County Health Officer lacked the authority to make such a sweeping order, and that County’s this action interfered with the constitutional rights of religious and other private schools.

The suit references that early in the day, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan amended his emergency orders to make it clear that the County cannot rely on the governor’s emergency power to close religious and other private schools. It is unclear whether the County will attempt to enforce its order relying on other legal authority.

The plaintiffs are being represented by Timothy F. Maloney of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

“This County’s order targeting religious and private schools for closure was the only one of its kind in the entire country,” said Timothy Maloney, attorney for the plaintiffs.  “It was plainly unconstitutional. It disrupted the lives of thousands of Montgomery County families.  Now that Governor Hogan has acted decisively, the County should immediately rescind its illegal order.” 

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 50 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has represented individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

On May 18, 2018 JGL attorneys Levi Zaslow, Maritza Carmona and Tim Maloney won nearly $260,000 in damages for their client, Mamoun Ashkar, who faced ethnic discrimination within his community of Riverdale Park in Prince George’s County. The Washington Post, Daily Record, WTOP, and WJLA, among others, have published articles about this case as it has meaningful impact on not just the Prince George’s County town but also for broader communities.

 

Mr. Ashkar, a Palestinian-American, became the owner of Greg’s Towing in January of 2015. Greg’s Towing is the only tow company in the Town of Riverdale Park in Prince George’s County and, for 30 years, it was the exclusive tow service provider for the town and its police department. Once Mr. Ashkar took over Greg’s Towing, he contacted Town representatives, including the police dept., to continue the company’s long standing relationship with the Town.  However, he was denied any business by the Town and town representatives repeatedly made discriminatory statements and used derogatory language about Mr. Ashkar and his business.

Mr. Ashkar “was horrified and shocked that this is happening right here in our own backyard in the 21st century,” Levi S. Zaslow said.  “My parents moved here because it’s supposed to be the land of the free,” Mr. Ashkar said. “It’s made up of a lot of people. We all live together and this is what makes this country up, people from all over . . . It’s a very normal life and I don’t know why they would think otherwise.” 

“Local government cannot discriminate against its citizens and this case is about fairness, justice and equality and this verdict speaks to that,” Mr. Zaslow said.

After the trial court initially set aside the jury’s verdict, Maryland’s appellate court disagreed with the trial court and concluded the jury acted reasonably.  On Thursday, July 30, 2020 the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland reinstated the jury’s verdict.  The appellate court observed:

Based on the admitted evidence discussed above, it appears to us that Ashkar established a prima facie case of discrimination that was submitted properly to the jury. Ashkar is a member of a protected class as a Palestinian-American. Ashkar, as Greg’s Towing, was qualified objectively to be the Town’s tow contractor—he had a tow lot in town; he was the owner of the business that had been the exclusive tow provider for Riverdale for 30 years prior to his obtaining ownership of Greg’s Towing; and, Ashkar had been selected to provide towing for other towns and organizations. He was rejected by Riverdale when it contracted with AlleyCat. This decision was made despite Riverdale being aware of Ashkar’s objective qualifications and credentials

The appellate court concluded that the “jury could come to the reasonable conclusion that” the town’s reasons for refusing to associate with Greg’s Towing “was no more than a pretext for denying Ashkar the contract based on race.”

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A. is proud to continue its longstanding tradition of providing a voice to victims of discrimination, such as Mr. Ashkar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

Timothy Maloney; TMaloney@jgllaw.com

Nicholas Bernard; NBernard@jgllaw.com

Phone: 301-220-2200

VIDEO AND LAWSUIT INCLUDED

JGL Files Lawsuit in Anne Arundel Police Kneeling Case

 

GREENBELT, MD., July 17, 2020 — Joseph Greenwald & Laake has filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Md., on behalf of Daniel Jarrells, an young African-American man who, in February 2019, was forced out of his car at gunpoint and slammed to the ground by Anne Arundel county police officers, including one officer who violently shoved his knee into Mr. Jarrell’s neck and then kneeled on his neck for several minutes, a potentially lethal use of force. (Video here)

Jarrells’ lawsuit, filed on July 16, 2020, names three Anne Arundel County police officers, as well as the county government, as defendants, and seeks compensatory damages for excessive force, assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, and violation of his constitutional rights. A copy of the complaint is attached and can also be found online here.

In addition to compensatory damages, the lawsuit asks that Anne Arundel County be ordered to stop its practice of permitting officers to put their knees on the necks of arrestees, to stop police officers from using potentially lethal force on arrested people unless necessary to protect life, and to ban police officers from restraining arrested people in such a way that their airways can be blocked. (Video here)

“The officers’ violent and dangerous actions toward Daniel were not justified by any police or public safety necessity,” the complaint says.  The complaint notes that police had no legitimate reason to pull over Jarrells and that all charges against him were dropped.

The complaint states:  “As Daniel lay on the ground with Detective [Daniel] Reynolds’s knee on his neck, he attempted to shift his weight so that he could lie flat on his stomach instead of partially on his side, due to the discomfort that the restraint was causing. He also called out to his mother, telling her that the Detectives had pulled their guns on him for no reason. When Daniel shifted, Detective Reynolds responded by grabbing Daniel’s head and then slamming his knee into the back of Daniel’s neck. Detective Reynolds’s knee strike on Daniel’s neck was an excessive use of force, intended to inflict punishment and pain and not for any legitimate law enforcement purpose,” the complaint says.

After being arrested, Jarrells was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and, after a police dog found a small quantity of CBD oil with a THC content of less than one-half of one percent in the car, possession of a controlled dangerous substance.  All charges were later dismissed by the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney.

Jarrells is being represented by Timothy F. Maloney and Nicholas Bernard at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

Mr. Maloney said, “No citizen should be treated by police officers as Daniel Jarrells was on that day.  Mr. Jarrells is bringing this suit to bring an end to the use of kneeling and other potentially lethal police practices in Anne Arundel County.”

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 50 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has represented  individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia.