Post by Logan on Feb 12, 2016 1:35:53 GMT -6
Attorney general asks state's highest court to intervene in Freddie Gray cases
The Maryland attorney general's office is asking the state's highest court to take up competing appeals in the Freddie Gray case, which would freeze all proceedings indefinitely as the next trial date nears.
The agency, representing the Baltimore state's attorney's office, has petitioned the Court of Appeals to bypass the lower-level appeals process and expedite a review regarding questions over whether Officer William G. Porter can be compelled to testify against other officers while still facing his own charges.
Porter was ordered by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams to testify in two of the officers' cases, and Porter's lawyers have been seeking to overturn the decision. In the three other cases, prosecutors failed to convince Williams that Porter is a necessary witness, and they are seeking to overturn that decision.
The attorney general's office wrote that all five cases should be reviewed "because they provide an appropriate vehicle for this court to consider the application of [the state immunity statute] from all sides."
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-freddie-gray-appeals-request-20160211-story.html
The Maryland attorney general's office is asking the state's highest court to take up competing appeals in the Freddie Gray case, which would freeze all proceedings indefinitely as the next trial date nears.
The agency, representing the Baltimore state's attorney's office, has petitioned the Court of Appeals to bypass the lower-level appeals process and expedite a review regarding questions over whether Officer William G. Porter can be compelled to testify against other officers while still facing his own charges.
Porter was ordered by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams to testify in two of the officers' cases, and Porter's lawyers have been seeking to overturn the decision. In the three other cases, prosecutors failed to convince Williams that Porter is a necessary witness, and they are seeking to overturn that decision.
The attorney general's office wrote that all five cases should be reviewed "because they provide an appropriate vehicle for this court to consider the application of [the state immunity statute] from all sides."
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-freddie-gray-appeals-request-20160211-story.html