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 A lawyer for the officer, William Porter, said he would seek an
appeals court injunction to block Porter from testifying against
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. and Sergeant Alicia White.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams said Porter, whose
own trial ended in a hung jury last month, could be compelled to
take the stand since state prosecutors had offered him immunity in
exchange for testifying.
Williams said during a pre-trial hearing that Porter's "extremely
important testimony is needed in the Goodson and White cases."
Goodson is the second of six officers scheduled to stand trial for
Gray's death in April and faces the most serious charge,
second-degree depraved-heart murder. The trial is set to begin on
Monday with jury selection.
 The 46-year-old officer, who like Gray is black, was the driver of
the van where Gray, who was arrested after fleeing police, sustained
the broken neck that killed him.
The majority black city of 620,000 people exploded in arson and
rioting after Gray's funeral. The unrest followed other police
killings of black men in cities including New York and Ferguson,
Missouri.
Porter's own trial on involuntary manslaughter and other charges
ended in a mistrial last month and a retrial is set for June.
Williams issued his order after denying a defense motion to quash a
subpoena forcing Porter to testify. Porter took the stand to say
that he would invoke his constitutional right against
self-incrimination if called to testify.
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Porter's lawyers said that if he is forced to testify, material
could emerge that could be used against him in retrial.
Doug Colbert, a University of Maryland law professor, said of
Williams' decision, "This is a straightforward ruling. The
government has the power to compel testimony if they offer
immunity."
Goodson faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the murder
charge. In Maryland, "depraved-heart" murder is a killing done while
acting with extreme disregard for human life.
He also is accused of manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office
and reckless endangerment.
Williams also denied a request from Goodson's lawyers to move the
trial out of the city due to the intense publicity surrounding the
case.
(Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone and James
Dalgleish)
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