Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Porter Testimony At Goodson Trial

Update (3:07 p.m.):

In a response filed by Attorney General Brian Frosh's office, the state claimed Porter did not exhaust potential remedies at the circuit court level before appealing to the Court of Special Appeals, a route taken only in extraordinary cases under state rules for court proceedings. Furthermore, the state claimed, Porter didn't meet the criteria for an injunction.

"Porter does not even attempt to meet his burden for receiving an injunction," wrote attorneys. "In fact, Porter's motion before this Court is little more than a recitation of his motion to quash in the circuit court."

Porter, they wrote, needed to prove he will suffer greater (and irreparable) injury if the injunction is not granted than prosecutors will suffer if it's granted and that it is in the interest of justice that the injunction be granted. Attorneys believe the limited immunity prosecutors can grant Porter's testimony is sufficient to protect it against use in even a federal prosecution.

CLICK HERE to read the full response.

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The Court of Special Appeals on Friday issued a stay on Judge Barry Williams' order to have Officer William Porter testify in the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson.

The two page stay was signed today by Peter Krasuer, Chief Judge for the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

CLICK HERE to read the stay.

The officers are among six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Williams, who is presiding over all six cases, ordered Porter this week to testify in Goodson's trial, which starts Monday, and that of Sgt. Alicia White. Goodson faces the most serious charges in Gray's death.

The stay noted the state has not yet had a chance to respond to Porter attorney Gary Proctor's 38-page motion. It did not indicate when a ruling on the injunction would be issued.

Porter's first trial last month ended in a hung jury, but prosecutors plan to retry him. If he does testify in the other trials, it would be under a form of limited immunity. Anything said from the stand could not be used against him in his own trial.

Earlier today, new trial dates for White and Officer Garrett Miller were formally entered into the record.

White's trial has been delayed two weeks and will start February 8. Miller's trial has been delayed a month and will start on March 7.