RadioOnFire.com - This is likely to be the week we learn whether there will be further delays in the trials of the officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office is asking the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, to intervene, to determine whether Officer William Porter should be forced to testify at the trials of the five other accused officers.
Porter, whose trial ended with a hung jury in December, has been fighting any effort to force him to testify.
He faces a retrial in June.
Identical requests to the Court of Appeals were filed on Wednesday in each of the five remaining cases.
CLICK HERE to read the filing in the case of Officer Edward Nero, who is scheduled to go on trial next week.
So far the Court of Appeals has not acted on the request.
On Maryland's News This Week, attorney Warren Alperstein, who is not representing anyone in this case, said that such requests are rare. He notes that prosecutors have limited grounds for filing an appeal, and these request don't appear to meet those standards.
Alperstein believes the Court of Appeals may agree to take up this issue, since there is a belief that all of these cases will wind up in the state's highest court, if the officers are convicted.
If the Court of Appeals takes up the case, it would delay the start of the trial of Officer Edward Nero, which is scheduled to start one week from tomorrow.
Nero, Officer Garrett Miller, and Lt. Brian Rice are the three officers who arrested Gray.
Last month. Judge Barry Williams denied a prosecution request to force Porter to testify at the trials of Nero, Miller and Rice.
Prosecutors then asked Williams to delay the trials while they appeal the decision. On Wednesday, Williams refused.
CLICK HERE to read Judge Williams' order denying a request to delay the trial of Officer Edward Nero.
Miller's trial is scheduled for March 7. Rice's trial is scheduled for April 13.
Porter faces a retrial on June 13. His attorneys have fought efforts to compel their client to testify, even though he is being offered limited immunity by prosecutors.
Porter is considered a material witness in the cases of Officer Caesar Goodson, who drove the van that transported Freddie Gray, and who faces second degree murder charges, and the case of Sgt. Alicia White, who was Porter's supervisor.
Goodson's and White's trials have been delayed, as Porter's attorneys appeal the order for their client to testify to the Court of Special Appeals.
Prosecutors issued a written response to this appeal this past Wednesday.
CLICK HERE to read the prosecution's arguments to the Court of Special Appeals
The Court of Special Appeals will hear oral arguments in the Goodson and White cases on March 4.
Source WBAL
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