A public interest law professor from George Washinton University Law School, John F. Banzhaf III, has filed bar complaint (full pdf below) against Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby.
In the complaint Banzhaf calls Mosby a “runaway prosecutor” who has violated ethics rules governing the conduct of attorneys in Maryland at almost every turn in the case — from the moment she announced the charges against the officers in May 2015 to this week, when her office signaled it would continue pursuing its case against the officers still facing charges despite the full acquittal of two other officers in the last two months.
[scribd id=317068404 key=key-WFxNpDC7qDQ8XqyXYEW8 mode=scroll]
In addition to the two acquittals, both at bench trials before Judge Barry G. Williams, a mistrial was called in the trial of Officer William Porter after a jury could not reach a consensus on any of the charges against him.
(Via Baltimore Sun) […] Banzhaf said in an interview Wednesday morning that he has no connection to the cases and has not been in touch with the prosecution or any of the officers’ defense teams.
He also said he has “no particular political ax to grind, certainly not in Maryland,” but decided to get involved in the case because Mosby “has gone too far” and her actions “are causing many problems for the city of Baltimore.”
Local attorneys, Banzhaf said, are often dissuaded from lodging such complaints for fear their involvement would jeopardize their representation of local clients — making it even more important for outsiders with legal expertise to step in.
“I get involved in lots of different public interest actions because I think they are important and I think it’s a more effective use of my time than writing law review articles,” he said.
He said he believes there are already grounds for Mosby’s disbarment, but that his case will be strengthened even more if Mosby continues to prosecute the officers still facing trial.
The next trial, of Lt. Brian Rice, is scheduled to begin with a pre-trial motions hearing Tuesday. (read more)
