Pre-trial motions in the case of Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero took place Tuesday. His trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday (May 11), but city prosecutors asked for a one-day delay because a power outage at their offices last Saturday slowed their preparations for the case. Nero is the second of six police officers to be tried in the case involving the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, the young black man who died from injuries he sustained while in police custody 13 months ago. Officer Nero will not have a jury trial. Rather, he has asked Judge Barry Williams to make a ruling after hearing the evidence in his case. In March, the Court of Appeals ruled that another indicted police officer, William Porter, will be compelled to testify in the trials of the other five officers. Porter’s own trial ended in a hung jury, and he will be re-tried at a later date.
To get us up to date on all of this, we turn once again to our legal eagles, Edward Smith and David Jaros. Edward Smith is an attorney in private practice. He has served in the office of the State’s Attorney, and he has argued cases in front of the Supreme Court. David Jaros is an associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, whose scholarly focus is on Criminal Law. They join Tom in the studio.
