Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants to push for state legislation that would give judges and prosecutors the ability to reject a defendant’s right to choose a bench trial.
Mosby held a press conference Thursday morning where she outlined a series of proposals aimed at reforming the prosecution of police misconduct.
The bench trial legislation proposal comes after all but one officer in the Freddie Gray case chose a bench trial. Three of those officers were acquitted and the remaining charges were later dropped. Officer William Porter opted for a jury trial, which ended with a hung jury.
Mosby said those trials taught her a thing or two.
"I broke a long standing protective norm in the pursuit of justice for a 25 year old black man against a few members of the Baltimore Police Department and learned hard, valuable and challenging lessons along the way," Mosby said in her news conference preceding a panel discussion for Coppin State University students.
Mosby’s response to those lessons are a call for reform to the system, a five-point plan she said will move Baltimore beyond the failed policies of investigating police misconduct.
In addition to changing the way police misconduct is investigated by the department and increased civilian participation, Mosby wants her office to have police powers.
She wants gun-carrying investigators to be able to serve warrants and arrest the citizens of Baltimore.
Under Maryland Rule 4-246, the state code allows a defendant to waive the right to a trial by jury and have the judge hear their case. Mosby said she wants that law to conform with federal standards.
"I am not proposing to take that right away. What I am proposing to do is to conform laws with the federal standard. Understanding and recognizing that the state a right to a jury as well as the defendant," Mosby said.
Mosby wouldn't allow further questions on the subject, but is arguing for the right to reject a Maryland defendant's decision for bench trial as exists in the federal system.
Follow Brian Kuebler on Twitter @BrianfromABC2.
Here in Maryland, it is a right all attorneys make sure their clients know.
"That morning we were ready to go to trial and we were absolutely gonna select a bench trial," said Officer Garrett Miller’s defense attorney, Brandon Mead.
Mead said he explained the option of a bench trial to Miller early on in the process.
After seeing the officers before him choose a bench trial and acquitted, Miller was poised to choose the same path the very morning Mosby decided to drop all charges in the Freddie Gray matter.
Mead said most of his clients choose a jury, but the right to choose a bench trial is useful in cases like Miller's, and said it is a valuable right any defendant would want in defending themselves against the state.
"Anybody, whether you are a police officer or a regular citizen to choose, it is your right to choose. It is absurd to think that we would take that right away and the general public needs to recognize that what Ms. Mosby wants to do, she doesn't want to take that right away from just officers, she wants to take that right away from everyone," Mead said.
Mosby would have to approach the Maryland General Assembly to change the law.
The Baltimore Police Department is also weighing on Mosby's proposed reforms.
She called to do away with the BPD's Special Investigation Response Team which investigates police shootings, a model approved by the department of justice.
Instead Mosby is calling for a team comprised of one member of the BPD, someone from her office, a civilian and a member of the Maryland State Police.
In response, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said, “The Baltimore Police Department has enacted many reforms over the past year. More are in progress, and even more on the horizon. Public trust benefits from a wide variety of input. We will consider all recommendations that serve to improve our processes and enhance our reputation in the community."
Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android
