Steve Burns
WMAL.com
BALTIMORE, Md. – (WMAL) Trial number five of Baltimore police officers allegedly involved in Freddie Gray’s death starts this week, and for the first time, the prosecution is bringing in substitutes. They are legally required to, with Officer Garrett Miller’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at stake.
“The law is very clear,” legal analyst Warren Alperstein told WMAL. “When witnesses are compelled to testify, when it comes time for their own trials, there has to be new prosecutors in place.”
The burden is very high, Alperstein said, for the state to prove they did not take Miller’s testimony during Officer Edward Nero’s trial into account in the planning or line of questioning in Miller’s own trial.
“They could learn about because they could’ve sat in court. They could’ve learned about it from talking with their colleagues. They could’ve learned about it from news reports,” Alperstein said. “It is very challenging for the state to prove this clean team is not using anything these prior witnesses testified to.”
Miller’s charges are similar to what Officer Edward Nero faced – the alleged illegality of Gray’s arrest. Judge Barry Williams acquitted Nero, concluding his actions didn’t amount to anything criminal.
“The argument still circles back to even if it was an illegal arrest, it still does not amount to criminal conduct,” Alperstein said.
Two trials remain after Miller’s – Sergeant Alicia White, and a re-trial for Officer William Porter. Porter’s first trial, the only one involving a jury so far, ended with the jury hung on all counts in December 2015. Subsequent officers have elected for a bench trial and have all been acquitted.
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