Mosby Supporters Seek to Justify Her Anticipated Retreat

WASHINGTON - July 4, 2016 - PRLog -- Faced with major legal threats - two formal complaints seeking her disbarment, five law suits by police she charged, and a hearing on Tuesday into allegations that she engaged in two different acts of fraud in bringing the charges - supporters of Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby seem to be paving the way for her to retreat from further criminal prosecutions gracefully without losing face, or the support of her followers, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

        The strategy apparently is to stress her courage in just bringing the charges, and the many things her charging has already accomplished, and to downplay her three losses in court - losses which are now much more likely if she continues the prosecutions in the face of a judge's rulings which have emasculated her cases, says Banzhaf, whose pending disbarment complaint charges her with numerous violations of  Maryland Lawyer's Rules of Professional Conduct [RPC] for attorneys.

        For example, Baltimore activist Ralph Moore, has just said: "I think she's a hero, and many others think that too."  He explains that: "These officers may end up not guilty, but the trials exposed a lot of the problems in the Police Department in terms of training and following procedures .  .  .  If she hadn't had these trials, where would the community get that information from?"

        Attorney J. Wyndal Gordon told the Baltimore Sun: "Mosby has sent a clarion message to rogue city officers who believe they are above the law, that they better take heed."  Community organizer Ray Kelly claims that Mosby still has the support of many in the community: "My perspective is she initiated a change . . . So many people have never even tried to undertake this endeavor."

        Moreover, as the Sun reports: "Mosby's backers say the case put pressure on Maryland lawmakers to pass legislation overhauling police discipline, hiring and training and on city officials to equip officers with body cameras and implement a range of reforms."  It also notes that: "Boosters, meanwhile, applaud Mosby's efforts to seek justice. Win or lose in court, they say, her prosecutions helped to spur reforms by exposing deficient police policies and the purchase of safer police vans with cameras inside."

        "Complaints against police officers are down sharply in Baltimore, and Mosby's supporters credit her decision to press charges as contributing to the decline," it says.

        Even her critics think that this will be the strategy if she withdraws.  Roya Hanna, a former Baltimore prosecutor, says "She'll try to say, 'At least I tried. Isn't that a good thing?'"  But Hanna cautions: "I think indicting people when you have no evidence to convict them shows a serious lack of judgment."

        Another strong supporter, Curt Anderson, chairman of Baltimore's House delegation, seems to be following the same plan.  He recently said: "I don't think justice would have been served had the officers not at least been indicted . . . . They [the officers] are having their day in court, they won. That's still justice."

        If justice has already been served by the indictments and initial trials, and if any future trials are doomed by the many adverse legal and factual determinations made by the judge, then there appears to no pressing need to continue what appears to have now become an exercise is futility.

        Interestingly, none of her supporters are stressing her tenacity in continuing to prosecute.

        In other words, says Banzhaf, Anderson and others seem to be providing Mosby with a graceful way out.  She could just say "I did my best . . . I got indictments . . . I conducted trials . .  and all of this amounts to progress and justice . . . so why continue trials which could further embarrass Baltimore."

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW, Wash, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/  jbanzhaf@law.gwu.edu  @profbanzhaf