"Any effort through the voir dire process to seat six fair and impartial juries for these Baltimore City Police Officers would be futile given the fact that the events surrounding this case have impacted every citizen of Baltimore," the motion read.
The death of Gray on April 19 while in police custody set off protests across the nation and riots in the city of Baltimore. A curfew was set in place and press and protesters were assaulted with tear gas as the National Guard and thousands of police officers from across the state patrolled the streets.
Peace was restored to the city when Officers Caesar Goodson, Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, Brian Rice, Alicia White and William Porter were charged by State Attorney Marilyn Mosby. The most serious offenses fell on Goodson, who was driving the van. Goodson is charged with second-degree depraved heart murder, manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and misconduct in office.
On May 8, a joint motion by the defense also called for Mosby to recuse herself from the case.
