Baltimore Mayor’s Legal Response Challenges State’s Attorney’s Break With MONSE Over Evidence Disclosure Concerns

City and prosecutor clash over disclosure duties, victims’ rights, and the future of a key violence-reduction partnership

Baltimore’s City Hall and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office are in a widening dispute over whether prosecutors can continue coordinating with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), the city agency that helps run violence-reduction and victim-support initiatives.

On February 2, 2026, the city released an independent legal response commissioned by Mayor Brandon Scott and the Baltimore City Law Department. The analysis argues there is no legal basis for State’s Attorney Ivan Bates to sever ties with MONSE based on concerns that coordination could trigger constitutional disclosure problems in criminal prosecutions, including obligations under Brady-related principles.

The city’s response follows a January 20, 2026 independent legal review released by the State’s Attorney’s Office that supported Bates’ decision to terminate a formal partnership with MONSE. That review asserted prosecutors could be required to identify, collect, and disclose potentially exculpatory or impeachment information held by MONSE if such information could be imputed to the prosecution, and warned that failing to do so could jeopardize prosecutions and defendants’ constitutional rights.

The central legal question in the dispute is whether MONSE’s information can be treated as effectively within prosecutors’ reach for disclosure purposes when MONSE staff interact with victims, witnesses, and individuals connected to cases.

The conflict escalated publicly after Bates notified city leadership in early December 2025 that his office would end direct coordination with MONSE, including collaboration connected to the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS). In that letter, Bates raised concerns about transparency, oversight, and victim notification, describing MONSE and programs it funds as operating behind a “veil of secrecy.” Bates said his office would continue working with the mayor’s office and the Baltimore Police Department, but not directly coordinate with MONSE within the GVRS framework.

What MONSE does and why it matters to prosecutors

MONSE oversees community violence intervention efforts and city-run victim services. GVRS, launched in January 2022, is built around daily coordination among MONSE, the Baltimore Police Department, and the State’s Attorney’s Office, alongside service providers and community partners. The strategy focuses resources on a relatively small number of people assessed to be at acute risk of involvement in gun violence, pairing offers of services with enforcement and accountability for violence.

• GVRS is structured around law enforcement, service providers, and community members jointly delivering an anti-violence message and offers of support.
• MONSE’s victim services work includes crisis support and referrals, and coordination with victim services units in law enforcement and prosecutors’ offices.

What happens next

As of February 2, 2026, Bates’ office had not announced a change in its position following the city’s legal response. The practical impact hinges on whether prosecutors and MONSE can design a coordination structure that preserves victim support and violence-prevention work while addressing disclosure, record-handling, and accountability concerns raised by the State’s Attorney’s Office.

The disagreement arrives as Baltimore reports historically low levels of lethal violence compared with prior years, a trend city leadership has attributed to a broad ecosystem that includes police enforcement, community violence intervention, and prosecution. Whether that ecosystem can continue functioning with limited prosecutor contact with MONSE is now a central question for public safety and case integrity in 2026.