Law Enforcement Administrative Practice

Our law enforcement practice evolved from Professor Warnken’s three decades of teaching courses that cover the law enforcement community. In 1995, he designed a law school seminar to examine the legal issues in the professional life of law enforcement officers in the criminal, civil, and administrative arenas. The text is titled Issues in Law Enforcement: Criminal, Civil, & Administrative Adjudication (5 th ed. 2004). In 1987, he published an 86-page law review article, addressing police Garrity issues, and including a Model Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. The article has been cited by federal and state courts and reprinted by the Crime and Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in House Report 102-112, titled “Rights of Police Officers During Internal Investigations.”

From 1994 to 2001, Professor Warnken served as Director of Legal Programs for the National Law Enforcement Officers Rights Center, which was the advocacy and educational component of the Police Research and Education Project of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). He provided educational programs on police issues throughout the country, including topics such as Fourth Amendment search and seizure, use of force, Fifth Amendment confessions, homicide investigations, Garrity rights, the Lautenberg Amendment, and administrative discipline. He participated in an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States, on behalf of Officers Koon and Powell, in the Rodney King case. He drafted, and testified concerning, legislative proposals before Congress and the Maryland General Assembly. He testified as an expert in Wisconsin on the issue of public access to police disciplinary files.

On two occasions (1992 and 1994), Professor Warnken was the keynote speaker at NAPO’s annual national convention in Orlando, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1996, he received the Pete Lauer Memorial Award, presented annually by NAPO to the “non-cop” who has made the greatest contribution to the nation’s law enforcement community.

Some of his educational programs for the law enforcement community are as follows: In 1997, he participated, along with J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General of Maryland, and a federal prosecutor, in a drug interdiction seminar for “top brass” within the International Association of Chiefs of Police, representing 38 states and three Canadian provinces. In 1999, he conducted a program for the Harvard Associates in Police Science, the Maryland Homicide Investigators Association, and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office on confessions in murder cases, emphasizing jailhouse informants and Miranda rights. He conducts an annual four-hour seminar on vehicle stops and searches for the Baltimore County Police Department.

Some of Professor Warnken’s national and state legislative work on behalf of the law enforcement community is as follows: In 1992, he testified in Congress on the power of Congress to enact a national law enforcement officers’ bill of rights, similar to Maryland’s statute, which was the first such statute in the nation in 1974. Following his testimony, he drafted the proposed “Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights Act of 1993,” which originally was to be part of the Clinton Crime Bill. He was invited to the White House for the bill signing ceremony for his legislative work. He drafted the proposed “Police Accountability Act of 1997.” He testified on multiple occasions, in the Maryland General Assembly, on proposed amendments to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights and qualified immunity in civil litigation.

Since January 1, 1998, our Firm has served as General Counsel to the Maryland troopers Association (MTA). We represent the 2,400 active, retired, and civilian members of the MTA. The MTA represents 80% of the sworn members of the Maryland State Police. Our law enforcement practice consists of administrative disciplinary cases, e.g., emergency suspensions, investigations, interrogations, detailed reports, shooting investigations, injunctive “show cause” proceedings, trial boards, and appeals, plus grievances and retirement disability advice.

We have represented law enforcement officers in 32 federal, state, county, and local agencies. In particular, since 1998, we have served as general counsel to the Maryland Troopers Association (MTA). The MTA represents 2,400 sworn, retired, and civilian members of the Maryland State Police, including 80% of the sworn officers. We handle (1) all of the administrative disciplinary matters, i.e., emergency suspensions, investigations, interrogations, officer involved shootings, trial boards; (2) departmental grievances; and (3) retirement disability advice. We also handle about 30 workers’ compensation cases annually. The 32 agencies in which we have represented law enforcement officers are as follows:

Federal:

  • Amtrak Police Department
  • Capitol Police Department
  • District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department
  • District of Columbia Transit Police
  • United States Secret Service

State:

  • Maryland Division of Correction
  • Maryland State Forest and Park Service Police
  • Maryland State Police
  • Maryland Transportation Authority Police
  • Mass Transit Administration Police
  • Pennsylvania State Police

County:

  • Anne Arundel County Police Department
  • Baltimore City Police Department
  • Baltimore County Police Department
  • Charles County Sheriff’s Office
  • Harford County Sheriff’s Office
  • Howard County Detention Center
  • Howard County Police Department
  • Montgomery County Police Department
  • Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
  • St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office
  • Washington County Sheriff’s Office

Municipal:

  • Annapolis City Police Department
  • Bailey ( North Carolina) Police Department
  • Cheverly Police Department
  • City of Aberdeen Police Department
  • Crisfield Police Department
  • Federalsburg Police Department
  • Hagerstown Police Department
  • Ocean City Police Department
  • Sykesville Police Department
  • Westminster City Police Department
  • In addition, the Firm has represented and/or advised 29 law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, and pro-law enforcement organizations, as follows

National:

  • Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc.
  • Fraternal Order of Police
  • Harvard Associates in Police Science
  • International Association of Chiefs of Police
  • International Brotherhood of Police Officers
  • National Association of Police Organizations, Inc.
  • National Law Enforcement Officers’ Rights Center

State:

  • Coalition of Maryland Black State Troopers
  • Florida Police Benevolent Association
  • Greater Chesapeake Law Enforcement Executive Development
  • Illinois Police Association, Inc.
  • Maryland Coalition Against Crime, Inc.
  • Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center (formerly Stephanie Roper Committee)
  • Maryland Homicide Investigators Association
  • Maryland State Police
  • Maryland Troopers Association, Inc.

Local:

  • American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Local 617)
  • Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police
  • Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police
  • Baltimore County Police Department
  • Baltimore Police Department
  • Charles County Sheriff’s office
  • City of Aberdeen Police Department
  • Harford County Sheriff’s Office
  • Madison ( Wisconsin) Professional Police Officers’ Association
  • Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police
  • Montgomery County Sheriffs’ Association
  • Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office
  • Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office