Harford County Circuit Court in Bel Air. File photo by Bryan P. Sears.
A Harford County Circuit Court judge is being asked to dismiss what is left of a lawsuit filed by a former county council member who is seeking to reclaim his seat.
Dion Guthrie filed the lawsuit late last month, weeks after pleading nolo contendere to a felony charge of stealing from the union he oversaw for 52 years. That plea sparked his removal from office.
But Harford County Circuit Judge Yolanda L. Curtin last week rejected Guthrie’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked his ouster.
Questions remain about whether a plea agreement to settle a felony theft charge filed against Harford County Council member Dion Guthrie (D) will allow him to retain his elected office. File photo by Bryan P. Sears.
On Monday morning, a team of lawyers representing Harford County Council President Patrick Vincenti (R), the sole defendant in the case, asked Curtin to reject a motion by Guthrie for a preliminary injunction and to also issue a summary judgement dismissing the case.
Guthrie, who is represented by former Attorney General Doug Gansler, went to court seeking to block his removal and an effort to name a replacement for his vacant seat. Additionally, he argued that his plea was stricken when a Baltimore County judge sentenced him to probation before judgement. Because of that sentence, Gansler argued the constitutional penalty did not apply to Guthrie, making his removal “illegal.”
Curtin, in a 10-page ruling, sided with attorneys for Vincenti that the plea triggered Guthrie’s immediate removal.
“The harm done here was not at the hands of Vincenti but rather because of the conduct of Guthrie that led to the nolo contendere plea. Any injury in the loss of Guthrie’s elected position, was because of the plaintiff’s nolo contendere plea to a felony theft charge, and not because of any conduct of” Vincenti.
Curtin added that it was not in the public interest to circumvent the so-called good government provision of the constitution that is aimed at removing public officials in certain cases.
Gansler did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday on the latest motion in the case.