On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Judge  Barry Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court ruled that Officer William Porter would not be forced to testify against three of his fellow officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.

The prosecution had originally filed asking for Porter, whose trial ended in a hung jury, to testify against Lt. Brian Rice and Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller. When he announced his decision, Williams accused the prosecutors of trying to stall the upcoming trials.

Judge Williams also granted Officer Porter’s request to postpone the trials of Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Caesar Goodson until the higher court releases its decision.

Porter  appealed to Maryland’s second highest court, The Court of Special Appeals , after Judge Williams ruled earlier in January that he would be forced to testify. Porter’s defense argued that forcing him to testify would violate his Fifth Amendment rights.

Goodson’s trial was postponed on Jan. 22 by the Court of Special Appeals,  which will not begin its hearing until March.

Officer Miller’s trial, originally scheduled for Feb. 9, has been pushed back to March 7 and Officer Nero’s trial is set to proceed on March 9. However, The Baltimore Sun reports there may be a potential conflict about the current scheduling of Miller and Nero’s trials, which could further delay the process.

The Greyhound will continue to cover the hearings, as information is made available.

The Baltimore Sun contributed to this post.

Photo Courtesy of Elvert Barnes/Flickr