Cops' Lawyers Slam Mosby, Explain Her Sudden Surrender

WASHINGTON - Aug. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- Three attorneys who represented Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray are speaking out in favor of the now-ongoing investigations of the prosecutors by Maryland's Bar Counsel for ethical violations and possible disbarment or other sanctions.

        The lawyers also agreed with public interest law professor John Banzhaf as to the unstated reason why the prosecutors suddenly abandoned any further trials of the police officers, and warned on CNN that "the dismissed charges and acquittals for the officers are just the first steps in this process."  At least five officers have already filed law suits, and additional civil counts are likely to be added, said Banzhaf
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        In a statement issued two days before the charges were dropped, Banzhaf suggested that the forthcoming Kastigar hearings might force the prosecutors to drop the charges.  That's now confirmed.

        Thus, CNN has reported: "The day before his trial was to start, Miller was going to have a Kastigar hearing to discuss his previous testimony in two other officer's trials and his immunity. The state was faced with putting its own prosecutors on the stand. Marc Zayon [representing Officer Edward Nero] believes the likelihood of putting her trial prosecutors on the stand motivated State Attorney Marilyn Mosby to drop the remaining cases on that particular day. "They'd (prosecutors) be subject to cross-examination," Zayon says "and they would be asked questions about the internal meetings that the office had and the discussions that they had."

        The three lawyers also said that "they realized that Mosby was not seeking justice."

        Michael Belsky, attorney for Lt. Brian Rice, went further, stating that "somebody seized a political moment and an opportunity."

        Michael E. Glass, a lawyer for two of the officers, has publicly accused Mosby of political motivation in the case, saying the charges were "were politically motivated and not supported by evidence to establish probable cause."

        Also, two of the law suits brought against Mosby charge that she "made statements for purposes of quelling the riots rather than prosecuting police officers who had committed a crime," and "exceeded her authority" and "brought charges against police officers that were wholly unsupported by evidence and probable cause."

        In the same vein, Dr. Ron Martinelli, a nationally renowned criminologist with extensive experienced investigating in-custody deaths and police use of force, has concluded that the case against the six officers constituted "malicious prosecution."

        Banzhaf also says that additional disbarment complaints may be filed.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW, Wash, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/  jbanzhaf@law.gwu.edu  @profbanzhaf