Trial of Caesar Goodson, Freddie Gray Van Driver, Delayed by Appeals Court

Maryland courts spokesman Terri Charles said Monday that Officer Caesar Goodson’s trial is postponed indefinitely, pending further proceedings before the state Court of Special Appeals.

A Maryland judge on Wednesday ordered Porter to testify against other officers charged in the death of detainee Freddie Gray.

The order, signed by Chief Judge Peter Krauser, said the Goodson trial “is stayed pending a resolution” of an appeal from attorneys for the prosecution’s material witness, Officer William Porter.

Goodson’s trial, when it takes place, will offer the public its first chance to hear his side of the story.

The trial for the second officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray is on hold for now.

Goodson was behind the wheel of the van that carried Gray to six different locations while he was handcuffed and shackled but unrestrained in the rear.

He and five other officers were charged in connection with the April 2015 death of Gray, who suffered a fatal spinal injury after being shackled without a seat belt in the police van. Goodson’s charges include second degree depraved heart murder.

Prosecutors have accused Goodson and Porter of failing to properly secure Gray inside the police van and ignoring his requests for medical attention.

While prosecutors have kept their case under wraps, they revealed last week in a pretrial hearing that they planned to call a witness specializing in “retaliatory prisoner transport practices”, according to the AP. The court of special appeals last week temporarily blocked the ruling while its judges consider whether to uphold that decision. Prosecutors will likely try and show Goodson purposely gave Gray a tumultuous ride as a form of punishment, USA Today reported. His lawyers say that this would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, since he faces a second trial in June, since the original case against him ended in a mistrial last December. Goodson, they say, bears the most responsibility because he drove the van, so Gray was technically in his custody.

Porter’s argument, then, is simple: The government can’t realistically promise not to use his testimony against him, because the government already plans to try him againfor his own involvement in Gray’s death. He also said Goodson’s attorney had objected to a continuance, asking for the trial to go forward this week.

Warren Alperstein, a Baltimore attorney who observed much of Porter’s trial, said the state will have a hard time without Porter’s testimony. Franklin has spoken to a slew of news organizations including, MSNBC commenting on Freddie’s death. “Not Officer Porter”, they wrote.