National
Hype Surrounds Hearing as Freddie Gray Case Heads to Court
Clockwise from top left: Baltimore police officers William G. Porter, Garrett E. Miller, Caesar R. Goodson Jr., Edward M. Nero, Alicia D. White, Brian W. Rice. (Baltimore Police Department)
Kevin Rector, THE BALTIMORE SUN
BALTIMORE (The Baltimore Sun) — After months of sharply worded motions by prosecutors and defense attorneys, legal questions surrounding the officers charged in Freddie Gray’s arrest and death will be aired publicly for the first time Wednesday in a solemn, wood-paneled courtroom in downtown Baltimore.
Six police officers stand accused in the case, which has captured the nation’s attention due to the protests and rioting that followed Gray’s death and the broader, nationwide conversation about alleged police brutality against young black men. The hearing is expected to attract a swarm of local and national media, with television trucks staging near City Hall and reporters being corralled onto a corner at the intersection of Fayette and Calvert streets for interviews.
The officers are not expected to appear at the hearing, which will focus on legal challenges to the charges. Defense attorneys are seeking to dismiss the case, or to remove Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby from the prosecution. Prosecutors, who have called the defense claims baseless, will press Circuit Judge Barry Williams to move the proceedings forward. Both sides will debate whether the officers should be tried together or separately.
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