UPDATED (1/8/16): We’ve embedded the state’s response to the appellate court order at the bottom of this post.
UPDATED (1/8/16): We’ve embedded Chief Judge Krauser’s order at the bottom of this post.
Well, that was (appropriately) quick.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the state’s mid-level appellate court, today issued an order halting trial Judge Barry Williams’ order that Baltimore Police Officer William Porter could be compelled to testify in the trial of fellow officer Caesar Goodson despite the fact that Porter is awaiting his own re-trial.
The order from the Court of Special Appeals, written by Chief Judge Peter B. Krauser, does not seem to be publicly available yet (if anybody has a copy they can send me, let me know in the comments below), and news reports leave the order’s full legal rationale and legal is unclear.
The rationale reported in the Baltimore Sun is that “prosecutors needed an opportunity to respond to an injunction request from Porter’s attorney filed Thursday.” This rationale really only makes sense if it was abundantly clear that the Court of Special Appeals were prepared to fully rescind Judge Williams order that Porter be compelled to testify, and the prosecution pleaded for an opportunity to make a more substantive counterargument.
Notably, Chief Judge Krauser’s order does not postpone the imminent trial of Officer Goodson, for which jury selection is to begin on Monday, suggesting he may have only grudgingly acceded to the prosecution’s request for an opportunity to provide a counterargument.
If we get ahold of Chief Judge Krauser’s order, we’ll be sure to post it.
UPDATED, 1/8/16:
And now we DO have Krauser’s order, thanks to commenter amwick, below:
UPDATED, 1/8/16:
We don’t have Krauser’s order, but thanks to commenter HandyGandy below we do have the State’s response to that order:
–-Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Attorney Andrew Branca and his firm Law of Self Defense have been providing internationally-recognized expertise in American self-defense law for almost 20 years in the form of blogging, books, live seminars & online training (both accredited for CLE), public speaking engagements, and individualized legal consultation.
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