Interesting development in the aftermath of the Baltimore Six trials in the death of Freddie Gray. A federal judge, Marvin J Garbis, has allowed a “malicious prosecution and defamation” lawsuit against Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to proceed.
Ms. Mosby’s position was that she held absolute prosecutorial immunity from actions taken as a state’s attorney.
Under normal prosecutorial constructs her office would most likely be correct. However, the judge rightly pointed out that Mosby conducted an independent investigation using her office for more than just prosecution:
“Plaintiffs’ malicious prosecution claims relate to her actions when functioning as an investigator and not as a prosecutor,” Garbis wrote. –link–
You might remember, almost all of the initial findings -used to construct the original charging documents against the Baltimore officers- stemmed from Ms. Mosby’s own independent investigation of fact.
It appears Marilyn Mosby’s independent approach, to ensure the officer’s arrests and prosecution, could now be her own undoing. Judge Garbis attaches direct liability to her for actions, behaviors and decisions she exclusively controlled.
All claims against the state were dismissed by Garbis, but the claims against Ms. Mosby will go forward:
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