Closing arguments concluded today in the bench trial of Lieutenant Brian Rice. Prosecutors called 12 witnesses over four days, and Rice’s defense team called four witnesses. Judge Barry Williams has stated he will issue his verdict Monday at 10:00am.
After the prosecution finished laying out their case Judge Williams threw out the 2nd degree assault charge stating the state had failed to provide enough evidence to support the charge.
The remaining charges against Lt. Rice were: involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Rice is the highest ranking officer of the six charged in the case.
The trial of Officer Brian Rice began last Thursday with the prosecution removing one charge of misconduct in office; today Judge Barry Williams removed the 2nd Degree Assault charge stating the prosecution simply had not shown enough evidence to retain it.
Involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and a lesser misconduct charge remains.
The prosecution rested it’s case and the defense began today on Day #3.
(Baltimore Maryland) The judge dropped one of four charges Monday against Baltimore police Lt. Brian Rice in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, ruling prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to prove second-degree assault after three days of witness testimony. (more…)
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. (more…)
In March of 2012 there was a clear inflection point within the judicial system when leftists, professional grievance activists, switched tactics from proclaiming the innocence of the transparently guilty, to advocating for the guilt of the transparently innocent.
The political case constructs against George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson were two high-profile examples that soon followed…. now this:
This past weekend the Baltimore Sun outlined investigative evidence from a Baltimore detective, Dawnyell Taylor, that clearly shows the prosecution of the Baltimore Six police officers was yet another example. Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby manufactured a political case intended to advocate for the guilt of the transparently innocent.
(Via Baltimore Sun) The lead Baltimore police detective in the Freddie Gray investigation said she reluctantly read to grand jurors a summary of evidence provided by prosecutors that she believed was misleading, according to police records reviewed by The Baltimore Sun. (more…)
Baltimore officer Caesar Goodson has been acquitted of all charges in the death of Freddie Gray – Full ruling pdf included below:
(Via Baltimore Sun) The Baltimore Police van driver accused of giving a “rough ride” that killed Freddie Gray was acquitted of all charges Thursday by Circuit Judge Barry Williams.
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, had faced the most serious charges of any of the six officers indicted in Gray’s arrest and death last April, including second-degree depraved heart murder.
Goodson was also acquitted of three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
(more…)
Officer Caesar Goodson was the police transport van driver who the Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has charge with murder. However, the case is beginning to collapse because as outlined last year the evidence simply isn’t there.
Not only is the evidence not there, exculpatory evidence hidden by the prosecutors continues to diminish their sketchy foundation for the charges.
Last week Judge Barry Williams was put into a difficult position by the State of Maryland when it was discovered the Baltimore prosecutors office had withheld exculpatory evidence, known legally as “Brady evidence”, from the defense team. This was the third time Mosby’s team had been caught manipulating evidence. Williams was not happy. (more…)
Justice Runs Amok
As a follow-up to last night’s developments and the motion to dismiss, Judge Barry Williams admonished the Baltimore prosecutors office for another blatant Brady Violation yet allows the trial of officer Caesar Goodson to continue.
It is beyond ridiculous that over a year after prosecutors filed charges against the officers, and into the third trial of those six officers, the judge is telling the prosecution they have until Monday to ensure all of the evidence is finally disclosed to the defense.
Officer Caesar Goodson, 46, was the driver of the van used to transport Freddie Gray to Western District police headquarters.
The prosecution is claiming Goodson gave Freddie Gray a “rough ride”, meaning intentionally trying to harm Gray while he was in the transport van. However, a second passenger in the van, Donta Allen, has previously disputed this accusation and stated the ride was “smooth” and uneventful.
(Via Baltimore Sun) […] Allen told police on April 12, the day of Gray’s arrest and seven days before he died, that Gray had been thrashing around and bashing his head into the partition that separates the van. Allen later publicly recanted, saying he only heard a faint tapping.
At the morning hearing prior to the trial, Williams determined that prosecutors had committed a violation by not disclosing a meeting they had with Allen in May 2015, in the presence of his attorney. The attorney disclosed the meeting to defense attorneys last week, who said it had been improperly withheld.
Baltimore Police Officer Cesar Goodson (left) is scheduled to begin his bench trial today, Thursday, in the third prosecution revolving around the Freddie Gray case. However, a stunning last minute motion to dismiss, based on a severe Brady violation from prosecutor Marilyn Mosby’s office, might just end the entire trial before it begins.
Those of you familiar with the political prosecution in the Zimmerman trial will remember the frequency of Brady Violations from Angela Corey.
Marilyn Mosby is worse.
Brady violations are when the State fails to turn over evidence that would support the defense. The “Brady Violation” in officer Goodson’s case stems from an interview with Donta Allen, the second passenger in the police transport van.
Many of you may remember that Donta Allen gave a statement to detectives where he told them he heard Freddie Gray banging his head and trying to intentionally injure himself.
However, what was unknown, until two days ago, was another interview with the prosecution in May 2015, where Donta gave prosecution investigators another statement during an interview. (more…)
As most anticipated Officer Edward Nero has been acquitted by Judge Wiliams during a bench trial determination. The arrest and charges were political decisions intended entirely to appease the racial grievance community…
(Baltimore Maryland) Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Monday rejected the state’s case against Officer Edward Nero, acquitting him on all counts for his role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.
The judgment, which followed a five-day bench trial, is the first in the closely-watched case. Nero, 30, had faced four misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.
(more…)
The trial of Officer Edward Nero continued today with devastating testimony from Garrett Miller in support of Nero. Miller and Nero were the two bicycle officers who originally encountered Freddie Gray.
As unbelievable as this may sound, the prosecution had never interviewed Garrett Miller before he took the stand today and destroyed the prosecution case against Edward Nero.
Miller’s testimony was compelled by the prosecution, challenged by the defense attorneys, upheld by a Maryland court order, and such compulsion is the subject of considerable ongoing legal controversy. Garrett Miller is also charged with identical charges as his partner Edward Nero.
Today, Miller took the stand and […] said he and Nero were on bicycle patrol in the Gilmor Homes area on April 12 last year when Lt. Brian Rice radioed that he was engaged in a foot chase from nearby.
Miller testified that he never sought to clarify the purpose for the chase. Prosecutors said in opening statements that by not seeking to determine the reason for the pursuit, the officers exceeded any legal authority to detain Gray and committed an assault. (more…)