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A Deadlock In The Trial Of Officer William Porter

We begin today with an update on the trial of Officer William Porter.  On this Wednesday morning, a nervous city awaits the jury’s verdict in Officer Porter’s trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office in the death of Freddie Gray last April. After eight days of testimony, Judge Barry Williams gave the jury his instructions on Monday, after lawyers for Officer Porter and the State’s Attorney made their closing statements in what reporters described as a packed courtroom in courthouse East in downtown Baltimore.  Yesterday afternoon, after about nine hours of deliberation, the jury told Judge Williams that they were deadlocked as to the guilt or innocence of William Porter.  The judge sent them back to deliberate further, and at 5:30 last night, they called it a day.  They are resuming their deliberations this morning.

As the trial got underway a couple of weeks ago, we called on two experienced attorneys to lay out what the issues at the trial would be.  We are calling on them once again for their insight into how both the prosecution and defense have made their cases, and where things may go at this point.  Edward Smith is an attorney in private practice.  He has served in the office of the State’s Attorney, and he has argued cases at the Supreme Court of the United States.   David Jaros is an associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, whose scholarly focus is on Criminal Law.  He was in the courtroom for three days of the trial.  

Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)
Rob is a contributing producer for Midday.