A mountain of pressure against Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby is making some question her competence to handle the prosecution of the Freddie Gray case. First, her office misfiled a gag order, which was struck down. Then, claiming she is both witness and prosecutor, the six officers indicted for the April death of Freddie Gray are calling - again - for Mosby to recuse herself.
Mosby's office filed the motion in Circuit Court on May 14, but the officer's cases were still in District Court at the time, according to The Baltimore Sun. Judge Charles J. Peters ruled the motion lacked standing as the officers' cases weren't transferred to Circuit Court until May 21, when they were indicted.
"We're not going to litigate this case in the media and discuss our trial strategy," said Rochelle Ritchie, a Mosby spokeswoman, according to The Baltimore Sun. Ritchie would not discuss the possibility for a second gag order motion. The judge's ruling does not preclude a second motion being filed.
A motion filed in Circuit Court cites an email from Mosby's office telling police to engage in more proactive policing of areas that were believed to be open drug neighborhoods. "Mrs. Mosby herself is now an integral part of the story and as such is a central witness. In the charges relating to the initial arrest and/or detention of Mr. Gray, Mrs. Mosby herself has become essential exculpatory evidence," the motion reads, according to CNN.
"State's Attorney Mosby asked me to look into community concerns regarding drug dealing in the area of North Ave and Mount St," Joshua Rosenblatt, division chief of Mosby's Crime Strategies Unit, wrote in a March 17 email to a Western District police commander, according to The Baltimore Sun.
"There is no conflict of interest. I'm going to prosecute," Mosby previously told CNN. "I'm the Baltimore state's attorney. My district includes every city in Baltimore city. A number of crimes that take place in Baltimore city and unfortunately in the district we live. Where is the conflict?"
The 25-year-old Gray died on April 19. He sustained a severe spinal cord injury while being transported in a police van one week earlier.
