Author: Andrew Branca

Thursday morning trial Judge Barry Williams is expected to release his bench verdict in the “Freddie Gray” trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson. Officer Goodson is charged with murder, multiple counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Goodson is the third of six charged officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. The jury trial of Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury, and Porter is scheduled to be re-tried. The bench trial of Officer Edward Nero ended in an acquittal. As was the case with Nero, Goodson also elected to have a bench trial. The prosecution in all these cases has put forth three distinct theories of criminal liability for the charged officers: (1) Murder by failure to seatbelt; (2) Murder by failure to provide prompt medical care; (3) Murder by “rough ride.”

The defense has rested in the "Freddie Gray" trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson.  Goodson is charged with murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment , and he is the third officer to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.  The jury trial of Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury, and Porter is scheduled to be re-tried.  The bench trial of Officer Edward Nero ended in an acquittal.  As was the case with Nero, Goodson also elected to have a bench trial. This morning Officer Nero testified as a defense witness in Goodson's trial.  According to reporting by the Baltimore Sun Nero testified that at the second stop of the van Gray was combative with officers, and that Nero heard what he described as "loud banging" coming from the van where Gray was placed by himself.  The Sun reports that prosecutors had few questions for Nero on cross-examination (perhaps they are still recovering from their self-inflicted cross-examination implosion yesterday).

In what would be a shocking turn of events in any trial other than one brought by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, state prosecutors have for the first time introduced into court evidence that medical examiner Carol Allan had at one point believed Gray's death was an accident, reports the Baltimore Sun. This disclosure was made on the fifth day of the "Freddie Gray" trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson, who is charged with depraved-heart murder among other charges in Freddie Gray's death, and only after the lengthy previous "Freddie Gray" trials of Officer William Porter and Officer Edward Nero.  Porter's jury trial ended in a hung jury, and he is scheduled to be re-tried. Nero's bench trial ended in an acquittal. In her own testimony earlier this week Dr. Allan told the court that "The word 'accident' never crossed my lips to anyone, other than to say, 'This is not an accident.'"  Allan has claimed that she always believed Gray's injury and death to have been a homicide, not an accident.  Allan gave similar testimony in the prior Freddie Gray trials of Officers William Porter and Edward Nero. Today, however, prosecutors introduced new evidence, for the first time, indicating that during a meeting with police investigators last year Allan had suggested that Gray's death was an accident.

The fourth day of the "Freddie Gray" trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson is most notable for the implosion of the state's "rough ride" theory of the case for lack of evidence. Prosecutors were compelled to throw this theory into the mix for the first time on the first day of Goodson's trial after it appeared the foundation had been pulled out from under their preferred "failure to provide timely medical care" theory of the case. Goodson is charged with depraved-heart murder,manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment in the death of Freddie Gray. The state has presented three different theories of the case in their prosecution of Freddie Gray, which we've covered at length in prior posts, including:

Freddie Gray: Trial of Van Driver Caesar Goodson, Day #3

Freddie Gray: The Relevance of Donte Allen’s Changing Eyewitness Testimony

Theory #1: Murder by Failure to Seatbelt, and Theory #2: Murder by Failure to Provide Medical Care now seem to be out of reach for the prosecution, leaving them desperately clinging to their final theory for why Caesar Goodson should be sentenced to prison for 30 years, Theory #3: Murder by Rough Ride.

News reports this evening indicate that the third day of the "Freddie Gray" trial of police van driver Officer Caesar Goodson has been pretty much of a nothing burger. The prosecution has floated, to one degree or another, three theories of the case, as we described in some detail in our prior post:  Freddie Gray: The Relevance of Donte Allen’s Changing Earwitness Testimony. Let's take a look at each theory of the case in light of the reporting on today's events at trial.

Last week we posted about how prosecutors in the current Freddie Gray trial of van driver Caesar Goodson had concealed from Goodson's defense attorneys an interview they had conducted with one Donte Allen.  Accordingly, the defense filed a motion for the dismissal of the charges against Goodson, a motion denied by trial Judge Barry Williams. In order to understand the relevance of witness Donte Allen, it is worth recalling exactly his role in the events surrounding the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray, and accordingly how his testimony might be relevant to determining the criminal liability, if any, of Officer Goodson. Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Carol Allan provided the most detailed accounting of the events surrounding Freddie Gray's transport in the police van, including his physical condition during that transport and especially at specific stops along the route, in her report. Although this autopsy report has not been made public, on June 24, 2015 the Baltimore Sun published relevant sections of the report from a copy that they managed to obtain. The quotes embedded below come from a single contiguous section of that report as published by the Sun.

On May 26 we posted that two of the six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray—Sergeant Alicia White and Officer William Porter—had filed defamation and invasion of privacy charges against Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Major Samuel Cogen of the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office . It was Cogen who swore out criminal charges against the officers, presumably at Mosby’s request. We followed this up with a post on June 8 noting that the two officers had amended their complaint to include allegations of malicious prosecution, false arrest, and violation of the Maryland declaration of rights, article 24 and 26. At the same time, we noted that a third officer, Lieutenant Brian Rice, had filed a civil suit against Mosby on similar grounds. Today we learned that another two officers, Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, have jointly filed similar charges against Mosby. In total, now, five of the six officers charged by Mosby in Gray’s death are suing her and Cogen for various forms of misconduct.

Prosecutors in the Freddie Gray trial of van driver Officer Caesar Goodson suddenly announced on Thursday, the first day of Goodson's trial, a new theory of the case never before formally argued by them:  that they believe Gray's injuries were the result of a malicious "rough ride" delivered by Goodson.  As the Baltimore Sun reports (emphasis added):

Before Thursday, prosecutors had presented evidence of a diving-type injury that caused his injuries inside the van, but had not directly alleged that Gray was hurt as a result of aggressive driving by the van driver.

The media and activists (but I repeat myself) have previously suggested that a "rough ride" might be in play in this case, but the prosecution itself has never directly made this claim part of their theory of the case--not, that is, until the opening day of Officer Goodson's trial. Officer Goodson is charged with murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment in the death of Freddie Gray. By all indications the prosecution has long planned to convict Goodson on the grounds that he had failed in a legal duty to provide Gray with adequately prompt medical care.  Specifically, the prosecution had planned to argue that Goodson was aware that Gray was having difficulty breathing, because of a statement to that effect by his colleague Police Officer William Porter. Porter is alleged by Detective Syreeta Teel to have made a statement to the effect that Gray was saying he was having difficulty breathing during an initial unrecorded interview by Teel.  In a later recorded interview, however, Porter made no similar statement.  Further, when Porter took the witness stand at his own trial (the first of the Freddie Gray trials, and ending in a hung jury), he denied having ever made the statement.

Two weeks ago, we published a post noting that two of the police officers charged by MD State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby had gone on the offensive and filed a civil suit in Federal Court against her and Maj. Sam Cogen of the Baltimore Sheriff's Office for defamation and invasion of privacy. (It was Maj. Cogen who signed off on the charging documents against the officers.) Since that post we have learned that a third officer charged in the case, Lieutenant Brian Rice, filed a contemporaneous suit against Mosby and Maj. Cogen on similar grounds. All three officers claim that both Mosby and Cogen knew that the officers had committed no crime, but nevertheless brought serious criminal charges against them--including manslaughter, felony assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office--despite this knowledge. The officers claim that Mosby and Cogen brought these charges not because they believed the charges were legally justified, but for political advantage and to attempt to quell the riots, looting, and arson taking place throughout Baltimore.  For this reason, they argue that Mosby and Cogen should not receive the immunity that would normally protect them from legal liability for decisions and action made in the course of their duties. Essential to this theory of the case is that Mosby and Cogen acted with actual malice, rather than mere negligence.  The officers feel malice is supported by the evidence including the Mosby press conference in which she announced the charges and stated to the assembled crowd:

I heard your calls for, ‘No Justice, No peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.

Today the officers' initial claims of defamation and invasion of privacy seem to have been simply the opening salvo against Mosby and Cogen.  According to a report by LawOfficer.com Sergeant Alicia White and Officer William Porter plan to amend their civil complaint to add new allegations of malicious prosecution, false arrest, and violation of the Maryland declaration of rights, article 24 and 26.  According to Political Insider, Lt. Rice's complaint against Mosby and Cogen is also expected to be amended to include those additional allegations.

Police officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van in which Freddie Gray suffered his traumatic neck injury, has opted for a bench trial, reports the Baltimore Sun yesterday.  Among the six officers charged in the matter of Freddie Gray, Goodson faces the most serious charges.  These include depraved-heart murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment.  The murder charge alone is a second-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years. Goodson is 46 years of age.  Goodson's trial proper is to begin on Thursday. In an important ruling yesterday, trial Judge Barry Williams held that prosecutors would be prohibited from introducing into evidence a statement the State alleges to have been made by Police Officer William Porter that Gray had said "I can't breath."  The claim that Goodson was aware of this claimed statement is essential to the argument that Goodson was aware of Gray's need for medical care and therefore bears criminal liability for failing to provide such care.

It looks like at least two of the Freddie Gray defendants have decided to go on the offensive. According to reporting by the Baltimore Sun, Sergeant Alicia White and Officer William Porter have each filed suit against State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby for defamation and invasion of privacy.  Also named in the suit is Major Sam Cogen with the Baltimore Sheriff's Office and the State of Maryland itself. The Baltimore Sun report notes:

Mosby, who announced the charges one day after receiving the official police investigation into the incident, said that she had conducted her own independent investigation with the help of the sheriff's office. Cogen signed and filed the initial charging documents in the case, outlining the state's probable cause.

In a remarkable deviation from his usual practice, Trial Judge Barry Williams has elected to release in written form his not guilty verdict in the "Freddie Gray" trial of Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero. The entire verdict is embedded below, but I'll highlight a few particularly interesting sections.

[UPDATES THROUGHOUT POST] Today Judge Barry Williams returned a verdict of not guilty in the "Freddie Gray" trial of Baltimore police officer Edward Nero, reports Justin Felton of the Baltimore Sun. Nero had been charged with second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of misconduct in office for his participation in the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray. Gray had been arrested as part of a crackdown on a high-crime are of the City of Baltimore.  He would suffer a severe spinal injury while being transported in a police van, and would die of his injuries a week later.  After Gray's death Baltimore was wracked with riots, looting, and arson.

Today the prosecutors and defense presented their closing arguments in the “Freddie Gray” trial of Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero. Naturally, nothing much new emerged, and each side simply summarized their theory of the case. There was one unusual facet of these closing arguments, however. Normally, closing arguments are presented as monologues to a jury, and the jury must simply sit and listen. In this bench trial, however, trial Judge Barry Williams is serving as the jury, and has the opportunity to ask questions of the lawyers as they close. It appears from news reports in the Baltimore Sun that Judge Williams took full advantage of this opportunity, particularly with respect to the prosecution’s closing.