[BALTIMORESUN] A federal judge is allowing key parts of a lawsuit against Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, brought by five of the six coppers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, to move forward.U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis ruled that claims including malicious prosecution, defamation, and invasion of privacy can move forward against Mosby and Assistant Sheriff Samuel Cogen, who wrote the statement of probable cause.
Mosby's attorneys had said she has absolute prosecutorial immunity from actions taken as a state's attorney. But Garbis noted that her office has said it conducted an independent investigation.
"Plaintiffs' malicious prosecution claims relate to her actions when functioning as an investigator and not as a prosecutor," Garbis wrote.
Other counts, such as false arrest, false imprisonment and abuse of process, were dismissed, as Garbis had signaled he would do at an October hearing. All claims against the state were also dismissed.
The Maryland attorney general's office, which is representing Mosby, declined to comment on the 65-page ruling, saying officials needed time to review it.
Three of the officers charged in the April 2015 arrest and death of Gray were found not guilty of all charges by a judge, and prosecutors dropped charges against the remaining three officers last July.
David Ellin, an attorney representing Lt. Brian Rice, said that barring a reversal on appeal, the ruling means the officers' attorneys will begin the discovery stage, which includes deposing Mosby and others involved in the investigation.
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