Now shut up and prep your defense:
In a victory for city State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, a judge on Wednesday denied motions to dismiss charges against six Baltimore police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray and to recuse Mosby’s office from the case.
The hearing will resume at 2 p.m. when prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to argue if the trial against the officers should be split up.
Defense attorneys argued that Mosby had gone too far in her remarks announcing charges against the officers, and that her office had numerous conflicts that required her office to be recused from the case.
Regarding the alleged conflicts, Williams said the defense “didn’t come close” to justifying a removal of the prosecutors’ office.
Tuesday’s arguments largely centered around the actions of Mosby and others in her office — and not the merit of the evidence in the case.
The dismissal motion focused on statements Mosby made while announcing the charges against the officers on May 1 in front of the Baltimore War Memorial. The arguments on the recusal motion focused on the role Mosby and prosecutors played in her office’s independent investigation of Gray’s death.
If you remember, the Baltimore FOP got the vapors when Mosby announced the charges too soon, or while black, or while standing next to a civil rights leader, or noting that people in Baltimore are scared of the police, or that cops killing unarmed people causes riots, or something or other that was most definitely the worst thing in the world and a clear sign that black people are starting a race war and that cops are the real victims. They demanded she be replaced, the trial be moved to somewhere lily white, and all sorts of other crap.
Judge Williams just told them to stfu and focus on what they are going to wear to trial.
CONGRATULATIONS!
That was their only chance. Better either start planning a plea, or figure out who will be the fall guy who does some hard time.
(Me, I think the focus on the driver is a mistake. Gray obviously already had a severe spinal injury by the time they loaded him into the van. Those bike cops who tackled him need to be deposed VERY thoroughly, because they’re the ones who broke his back).
Punchy
But what does this mean for Tom Brady’s defense? Tea leaves, bitches! Does this mean the judge is more likely to suspend Thomas J. Brady, or more likely to poop in a cup and hand it to Goodell? ESPN wants to know, and may run out of Patriots programming before the verdict is announced.
rikyrah
Go, Ms. Mosby.
It is sad that we have to be happy and bring outward support for a prosecutor that just did her job. And, the very basics of it.
But, it is what it is.
gratuitous
Yes, in announcing the charges, the District Attorney went too far! As we all know, everyone is to be very circumspect and careful to use the word “alleged” in connection with any crime. We also know that when a police officer is killed, it’s his fellow officers who are the most calm and rational commenters, always ready to thoroughly examine all the evidence and patiently wait for the system to work.
Or am I thinking of someone else?
RSR
In Philly, the FOP is pushing a law to prevent the release of the names of officers involved in shootings.
I don’t see an article posted yet, but here’s the first in a series of tweets from a local reporter:
https://twitter.com/dgambacorta/status/639088901446070272
scav
Amazing. Has it come to this? The rule of law is being applied to the truly devout arms of the law, who sincerely believe all, each and every of their actions are inerrant? How oppressive.
Luthe
@RSR: While there is a point to be made about cops who are involved in shootings getting death threats, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to deny the public the same information about the shooter as the victim. I mean, the cops can get protection from anyone who might go after them. The victim sure as hell can’t.
Plus, the second the victim’s name is released, the smears start. Knowing the cop’s name so the public can examine their record is only fair.
rikyrah
It’s 2015 and this is just coming up?
……………..
Stock Photos of Black People Are Finally Moving Beyond Racist Stereotypes
By Hannah Giorgis
Like so many millennial ideas, Kenneth Wiggins’s innovation gained its momentum from social media. This April, the web designer and front-end developer posted a tweet to a now-deleted Instagram post to gauge interest in an idea he’d been tossing around in his head: “Any photographers interested in submitting work for an open source (free) stock photography site featuring African Americans?”
Wiggins had been working on a project for a client and grew frustrated when all the stock images of black people he found online felt inauthentic—pictures that hardly moved beyond the stale stereotypes that categorize the vast majority of black representation in visual culture.
“I couldn’t really find the images that invoked the messaging behind the brand visually,” Wiggins told me. “There are other resources out there that have images of black people…but just the attitude and the emotion I was looking for behind the pictures, I couldn’t find.”
Within days of his initial post, photographers had chimed in, eager to be part of the kind of platform Wiggins was proposing: a stock photography site dedicated to providing nuanced, varied images of black people. Catalyzed by the positive response, BlackStockImages took shape rapidly, its pace matching the urgency of its mission.
“The response was kind of overwhelming so I just sat down and thought about it [all] weekend and kinda hit the ground running ever since,” Wiggins said. “The original idea was to just do something small where I just uploaded images or had images uploaded [by others] and people could download them.”
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122557/stock-photos-black-people-are-finally-moving-beyond-racist-stereoty
rikyrah
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Ian56
@Ian56789
‘Voting Machines Are Being Manipulated’ – Kansas Statistician Explains Her Remarkable Evidence http://bradblog.com/?p=11331
Lavocat
Just doing my “Fuck Da Police” Happy Dance. Carry on.
Frank Wilhoit
@rikyrah: This is one time, out of many upon many, when a prosecutor will be on the right side. Prosecutors may relatively rarely kill people with their own hands, but systemwide they probably cause more harm than first responders do, particularly in the areas of fabricating “evidence”, forcing disdvantageous plea bargains through intimidation, and ensuring that defendants are not effectively represented.
the Conster
Big fan of Mosby. She was a METCO student at my daughter’s high school who graduated two years ahead of my daughter, which means she had to take a bus from Boston before dawn to be at school every morning, and probably didn’t get home until supper time each night. Those kids have what it takes, and like Obama, she could have been anything she wanted to be. She comes from a family of cops, too, so she’s got all the perspective necessary on what it means to police. I’m sure she’s been extremely careful to cross her t’s and dot her i’s.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Frank Wilhoit: It’s rare. We have a DA in San Diego who has never prosecuted a cop. I’m not sure if we’ve ever prosecuted one here.
Oh, we have a cop up on rape charges. So far the DA’s “prosecution” of this fine officer has involved hiring private detectives to follow around every single one of his eight victims 24/7 until they get scared enough to either drop charges or settle. Seven have caved. I cannot blame them.
Xantar
I thought the conflict of interest argument was that Marilyn Mosby is married to Nick Mosby, a city councilman who has been vocally critical of Baltitmore police tactics. That’s not necessarily a winning argument either, but it sounds like a different argument than the one before the judge in this case. I wonder what happened.
boatboy_srq
@rikyrah: nevermind. Reposting something more intelligent.
boatboy_srq
@rikyrah: How typical: voting machine counts each Dem vote once and each GOTea vote 1.2 times. Typical also of Chris “Voter Fraud” Kobach to block access to the data.
Interesting additional tidbit from the article:
Yatsuno
Six separate trials. This is gonna be a long haul.
Tommy
@Lavocat: I’d like to do my happy dance police are cool happy but they are making it hard.
Cervantes
@Frank Wilhoit:
Love your music. Listening to Op. 28 right now. Thanks for sharing.
EmDeeAhr
Prosecutors make these kinds of statements when announcing charges against defendants all the time. I wonder why the police never objected before that they tainted the jury pool?
Arm The Homeless
Well, those East Tejas rednecks sure do love them some violence
“You light them up like they got mumps and measles when they go home with all the bumps and knots all over their asses,” Ener added. “They won’t come back, and what’s left of them — myself and some other people — we’ll take care of that.”
Former corrections officer, huh?
kc
They’re doing their job.
sukabi
@CONGRATULATIONS!: yep
Right to Rise
Donald Trump’s Purity Problem:
Will be interesting to see where this goes…
Tommy
@Cervantes: Just went from Pandora (used for 4-5 years) to Spotify a few days ago. Love the ambient music. But that isn’t what you are talking about is it?
SiubhanDuinne
@Arm The Homeless:
Geez, that was a terrifying article (couldn’t bring myself to watch the video — just seeing that shit in pixels on the screen was too awful).
Ridnik Chrome
@Arm The Homeless: People like that make me embarrassed to be white…
Tommy
@Ridnik Chrome: You and me both!
Calouste
@Right to Rise: Trump is 100% Pure Asshole, and that’s the only thing that matters to his fans.
Cervantes
@Tommy:
See here:
Lavocat
My response to almost any police union is a simple STFU. Just STFU, STFU, STFU!
burnspbesq
@Frank Wilhoit:
The FUCK are you on about?
You picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.