Judge faces wiretap charge for allegedly recording judicial deliberations; his lawyer says it was 'self-protection'
A Maryland judge has been indicted for allegedly recording himself and two other judges during confidential deliberations without the others judges’ knowledge or consent. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Maryland judge has been indicted for allegedly recording himself and two other judges during confidential deliberations without the others judges' knowledge or consent.
The Dec. 13 indictment alleges that Judge Marc Knapp of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, violated laws banning the interception of oral communications and misconduct in office when he recorded the judges June 4. Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced the indictment in a Dec. 13 press release.
WMAR 2 News, the Baltimore Banner and Maryland Matters (via the Legal Profession Blog) have coverage.
Maryland law bans recording conversations without the consent of all the parties.
Knapp is a judge on the three-member orphan’s court, which supervises the management of decedents’ estates and appoints guardians for minors. The recorded judges are identified as “Judge A” and “Judge B” in the indictment, but the two judges at the time were Judge David Duba and Chief Judge Vickie Gipson, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Knapp had asked not to have deliberations in chambers and acted “as a means of self-protection” amid increasing hostilities on the court, Peter O’Neill, Knapp’s lawyer, told the Baltimore Banner.
Gipson had previously accused Knapp of confrontational and threatening behavior, according to a September story by the Baltimore Sun. A temporary peace order issued in May barred Knapp and Gipson from speaking with each except in their professional capacities, but a judge dismissed a bid to extend it, the article reports.
Gipson had said she filed the peace order because she had safety concerns for everyone in the office, according to prior coverage by the Capital Gazette.
Gipson sought a second peace order based on an allegation that Knapp illegally recorded conversations with her and the third judge, the Baltimore Sun article says. Knapp had maintained at that time that he was recording himself, and he had warned the other judges not to speak if they didn’t want to be recorded, according to coverage by the Capital Gazette cited by the Baltimore Banner.
Knapp was previously criminally charged in connection with Gipson’s allegations, but prosecutors dropped the charges, the Baltimore Sun had reported. The new charges are “unfortunate,” O’Neill told the Baltimore Banner.
The conflict with Gipson stemmed from Gipson’s lack of authority over Knapp, O’Neill said. Previous reporting by the Capital Gazette said Knapp feels left out of decisions, which require approval from only two of the three judges. He also dislikes a move to written orders, rather than opinions.
“Judge Knapp maintains his innocence,” O’Neill told the Baltimore Banner. “We look forward to an opportunity to address these charges in court.”
O’Neill told the ABA Journal in an email that Knapp intends to plead not guilty.
“Any other comments would be more appropriate for trial,” O’Neill said.
