Police in Freddie Gray case will be tried in Baltimore

BALTIMORE — A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that the trials of six police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray will stay in Baltimore, saying the defense had failed to prove that the officers cannot receive a fair trial in the city.

Judge Barry Williams said that it would be wrong to assume the jury pool was already tainted and that potential jurors should be screened. His comments left open the possibility that the trial could be moved at a later date.

“The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic,” Williams said in his ruling. “They think for themselves.”

Defense attorneys had argued that intense media coverage and this week’s surprise multimillion-dollar settlement with Gray’s family, along with fear of future unrest, created an atmosphere in which jurors would be biased.

Prosecutors, however, had said that moving the case without attempting to find a jury was “insulting to the citizens of Baltimore” and should be a last option.

Williams ruled last week that each officer should be tried individually. The officers could also elect to bypass a jury and have Williams decide their fate.

Warren Alperstein, a defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not involved in the case but attended the hearing, said there was “very much” still a chance the trials could be moved. Though cases eligible for the death penalty are routinely moved to different jurisdictions, changes of venue in other high-profile cases are rare.

“He’s said, ‘Let’s give it a shot, and see where it goes,’ ” Alperstein said. “He’s putting, certainly, a lot of faith in the citizens of Baltimore city to not bring any preconceived opinions and biases into the [jury selection] process.”

The Gray family’s attorney, William “Billy” Murphy Jr., said that Williams made a “brave decision” to keep the trials in Baltimore but that he did not believe the judge was influenced by public pressure.

“It is rare that a jurisdiction should be deprived of handling its own criminal business,” Murphy said.

Ivan Bates, an attorney for Sgt. Alicia White, argued on behalf of all six officers. He said city residents were under siege during the April unrest and confined to their homes by the curfew, and as jurors would feel pressure to convict the officers to prevent more disturbances.

“They will know they must find our client guilty so they can go home to their community,” Bates said.

The task is more challenging with six trials, each requiring its own jury pool from which the two sides must find 12 jurors plus alternates, he said.

Bates began and ended his presentation by quoting an argument made in court filings by prosecutors, in which they justified State’s Atty. Marilyn J. Mosby’s comments at a news conference announcing the charges against the officers. In that court filing, prosecutors argued that Mosby restored order to Baltimore “before the entire city became an armed camp or was burned to the ground.” Bates said those remarks helped highlight the intense experiences and feelings surrounding the case.

Thursday’s hearing came one day after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s administration approved a $6.4million civil settlement with Gray’s family.

Rawlings-Blake said the settlement was meant to allow the Gray family and the city to move forward and to clear the officers of civil liability as they move through the criminal process. City Solicitor George Nilson said the city wanted to finalize the settlement before the change-of-venue hearing because, had it announced the deal after a decision by Williams to keep the trials in Baltimore, defense attorneys could have used the settlement as grounds to file new motions to move the case.

Police union officials criticized the settlement, particularly its timing. Fraternal Order of Police President Gene Ryan said Wednesday the settlement would prejudice potential city jurors.

The six officers involved in Gray’s arrest and death face charges ranging from assault to second-degree murder. All have pleaded not guilty.