The legal efforts of former Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin Clark to be reinstated as commissioner may hinge on arguments today before the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Clark, who was fired in November 2004 after then-Mayor Martin O?Malley called him a distraction to the city?s crime-fighting efforts, sued the city, alleging his termination was illegal. In a June 2006 ruling, the state?s Court of Special Appeals agreed, saying the former commissioner was a public official and could not be fired without just cause.