Judge Denies Police Officers' Requests to Remove State's Attorney from Freddie Gray Trial

Judge Barry Williams denied a request to drop charges and recuse State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby from the Freddie Gray case. He also dismissed a motion about alleged prosecutorial misconduct, deferring to another court.

Lawyers representing six police officers asked for certain charges to be dropped, such as false imprisonment and assault offenses. This “is an issue for the trier of fact,” Williams said, not for a pretrial hearing. There were several other reasons why the lawyers asked for Mosby and the state’s attorney’s office to be removed from trying the case, including their role in probing Gray’s death.

Gray was arrested April 12 after police approached him off North Avenue at Mount Street, and the 25-year-old died a week later in police custody from a spinal injury, authorities said.

The officers’ lawyers sent a flood of paperwork through the court system with reasons why Mosby should not be allowed to try the case, from the fact she encouraged police in March to conduct daily narcotics investigations in the area where Gray was detained to her husband’s position as a Baltimore City councilman.

Williams said that “inquiring three weeks prior” about criminal activity in the area made the state’s attorney neither integral to Gray’s arrest nor a material witness in the case, as the officers’ lawyers argued. He added that implying Mosby had authority over the police patrols “fails to take into account the command structure” of the Baltimore Police Department.

With regards to her marriage, the judge said he found it “troubling and condescending” to allege Mosby could not think for herself. “Marriage to a councilman is not a reason for recusal,” Williams said.

Deeming these insufficient reasons for recusal, Williams denied the request.

As for allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, Williams said he was dismissing the motion filed by the police officers’ lawyers, who should by a matter of procedure go to a state panel that handles grievances among trial lawyers in Maryland.

“It’s not within my power” to handle prosecutorial misconduct, Williams said.

A hearing Wednesday afternoon will involve whether the officers will be tried individually or in groups.

Pictured, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby during her inauguration in January 2015. Photo Credit: Baltimore City.