text: BALTIMORE (AP) — The latest on the first court hearing for six Baltimore police officers who are charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died a week after suffering a critical spine injury in custody (all times local): 
   
   Members of the media stand in line to enter the Baltimore Circuit Court, as the first court hearing was set to begin in the case of six police officers criminally charged in the death of Freddie Gray,... (Associated Press) 
   
   Baltimore police officers form a line at the Inner Harbor on Pratt Street as protestors gathered, blocking traffic, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 in Baltimore, as the first court hearing was set to begin in... (Associated Press) 
   
   Pastor Westley West, from Faith Empowered Ministries, leads protesters as they march towards Pratt Street and the Inner Harbor, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Baltimore, as the first court hearing was set... (Associated Press) 
   
   12:15 p.m. 
   
   Judge Barry Williams rejected a defense motion asking for the Office of the State's Attorney to be removed from the Freddie Gray case. The decision came at a pretrial hearing Wednesday, shortly after Williams had denied a defense motion seeking to have the charges dropped. 
   
   Williams said that while he was "troubled" by some of the comments Mosby made during a May 1 news conference, they did not compromise the defendants' right to a fair trial. 
   
   Williams said prosecutors' chief responsibility is to investigate and prosecute cases, and that the office conducted an independent investigation is not unusual. 
   
   Williams also said the assertion that Mosby's judgment was impacted by the fact that her husband, Nick Mosby, is a councilman in a district that experienced a disproportionate amount of violence during the riots that Gray's death sparked is "condescending. Being married to a councilman is not a reason for recusal." 
   
   Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died a week after suffering a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody on April 12. 
   
   ___ 
   
   11:45 a.m. 
   
   A Baltimore judge has refused to dismiss charges against six police officers accused in the death of a black man who was in their custody. 
   
   During a hearing Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams denied a defense motion for the charges to be dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct on the part of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby. 
   
   The officers are facing charges in connection with the death of Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old Gray received a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody on April 12. He died a week later. 
   
   ___ 
   
   10:10 a.m. 
   
   A hearing has gotten under way at a courthouse in Baltimore for six police officers charged in the death of a black man in their custody in April. 
   
   Officers Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, William Porter and Caesar Goodson, as well as Lt. Brian Rice and Sgt. Alicia White, face charges in connection with the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. All the officers face second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges. Rice, Porter and White also face manslaughter charges, and Goodson faces an additional charge of second-degree murder. 
   
   The 25-year-old Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury on April 12 while in police custody. He died a week later. 
   
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   10 a.m. 
   
   Dozens of protesters have been rallying for more than an hour outside the Baltimore courthouse where a hearing will take place for six police officers charged in the death of a black man. 
   
   Many protesters marched in the street to the city's Inner Harbor area, where they blocked a main road briefly. Police lined up behind them, and directed them out of the road. Police handcuffed one protester while he was on his stomach in the street. 
   
   The situation was tense outside the courthouse ahead of the hearing in the death of Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old black man suffered a severe spinal cord injury on April 12 while in police custody. He died a week later. 
   
   ___ 
   
   8:25 a.m. 
   
   Protesters are demonstrating outside the downtown Baltimore courthouse where the first hearing in the case of six city police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray is to get underway. 
   
   The protesters gathered near the Baltimore Circuit Court more than 90 minutes before the hearing was set to begin Wednesday. They are carrying yellow signs with slogans including, "Stop racism now" and "Indict, convict, jail." A banner says "Justice 4 Freddie Carlos Gray." 
   
   They chanted: "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell" and "Tell the truth and stop the lies, Freddie Gray didn't have to die." 
   
   Freddie Gray was a black man who died April 19, a week after suffering a critical spinal injury in custody. His death led to protests and a riot in Baltimore. 
   
   The six officers face charges ranging from second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, to second-degree "depraved-heart" murder 
   
   Lee Paterson says he's concerned charges could be dropped. He also said: "You know, this whole thing is bigger than Freddie Gray. It's about poverty." 
   
   ___ 
   
   8:05 a.m. 
   
   Dozens of sheriff's deputies are patrolling the streets around Baltimore Circuit Court, where the first hearing in the case of six city police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray is to get underway. 
   
   About 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, around 15 journalists were lined up, waiting for the courthouse doors to open at 8 a.m. A deputy briefed reporters on what equipment they could bring inside. 
   
   The officers face charges that range from second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, to second-degree "depraved-heart" murder. 
   
   On Wednesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys will present arguments on three issues: whether State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby should recuse herself, whether the officers should be tried together or separately, and whether the charges should be dismissed. 
   
   ____ 
   
   4:50 a.m. 
   
   The first court hearing is set to begin since six Baltimore police officers were criminally charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died a week after suffering a critical spinal injury in custody. 
   
   Protesters are planning to gather Wednesday outside the Baltimore Circuit Court, where prosecutors and defense attorneys will present arguments on three key issues: whether State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby should recuse herself, whether the officers should be tried together or separately, and whether the charges should be dismissed. 
   
   The officers face charges that range from second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, to second-degree "depraved-heart" murder. 
   
   Gray's death led to protests in Baltimore, and a riot that prompted the National Guard to intervene and the city's mayor to declare a citywide curfew. ||||| A circuit judge ruled Wednesday that the case against six Baltimore police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray will go forward in separate trials, with Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby remaining at the helm of the prosecution. 
   
   During a day of hearings in a downtown courtroom, Judge Barry Williams swiftly sliced through complex legal arguments in the first motions hearing. In three key rulings issued from the bench, he refused to dismiss the charges or recuse Mosby and decided that the case should be split to ensure that each officer gets a fair trial. 
   
   Williams said that trying the officers together would not be "in the interest of justice" because key evidence that's admissible with regards to one officer may be inadmissible for another. The officers are charged with a range of offenses, from murder to misconduct, as each played a different role in Gray's arrest and transport. 
   
   The case has sparked widespread protests in Baltimore — which continued Wednesday — and has become part of a national dialogue about police treatment of black citizens. Gray, 25, died in April one week after suffering a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody. 
   
   Outside the courtroom, dozens of protesters gathered in peaceful demonstrations and marches through downtown that resulted in one arrest and snarled traffic. Even at this early stage of the court proceedings, organizers said they wanted their voices heard. 
   
   "It's a step in the right direction," Malcolm Wilson said of Williams' rulings on defense motions to recuse Mosby and dismiss the case. The 23-year-old East Baltimore resident, who said he knew Gray, clutched a white cardboard sign that read, "I am here for Justice for Mr. Gray." 
   
   Police, who had been criticized for their response to previous demonstrations and rioting, repeatedly ordered protesters to "remain on the sidewalk" and quickly responded to one tense moment near the Inner Harbor in which a protester was arrested and an officer suffered minor injuries. 
   
   Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said police wanted to treat "a protest like a protest," and that "by and large, that's exactly what happened." Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake praised the department, saying she and police "will vigorously defend the First Amendment rights of the protesters, but we will also vigorously enforce the order in our city." 
   
   In the courtroom, filled with legal observers and media after months of sharply written legal filings filled with accusations lobbed between the defense and prosecution, Williams sought to maintain order. 
   
   He stopped the proceedings to remind those present to turn off all electronics, warning that he would remove everyone but the attorneys. He frequently interrupted the attorneys during their arguments, to seek clarification on a key point, wryly disagree or keep the attorneys on topic. 
   
   The officers had waived their rights to attend Wednesday's hearing, and Gray's family did not attend. 
   
   While the oral arguments on the dismissal and recusal motions largely reflected those made in written filings — which often centered on Mosby's actions — the arguments over whether to try the officers separately provided new insights into defense and prosecution theories. 
   
   Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the driver of the police van in which Gray was injured, is charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder. Sgt. Alicia D. White, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Officer William G. Porter are charged with manslaughter. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller face lesser charges, including second-degree assault. All six have been charged with misconduct in office. 
   
   Partially redacted statements by several of the officers were submitted to the court on Wednesday, though under seal, as were police dispatch tapes. 
   
   Prosecutors previously indicated that they wanted to try Goodson, White, Nero and Miller together in one trial, and Porter and Rice together in a second trial. 
   
   However, at the hearing Wednesday, they only sought to have Goodson, White and Nero tried together. Deputy State's Attorney Janice Bledsoe argued that much of the evidence in the case was relevant to those three officers. 
   
   She said all of the evidence related to what happened to Gray from his arrest to his arrival unresponsive at the Western District police station would be needed to prove reckless endangerment on their part. 
   
   But Marc Zayon, Nero's attorney, said Gray's arrest and transport constituted two separate incidents. He said evidence brought to support the felony charges against Goodson and White, including expert witness testimony on Gray's injuries sustained in the van and evidence regarding how Goodson was driving, would be highly prejudicial if introduced in a case against Nero. 
   
   Defense attorneys also raised concerns that statements by the officers could incriminate one of the co-defendants, pitting one's right not to take the stand with another's right to confront his or her accuser. 
   
   Matthew Fraling, an attorney for Goodson, also said he was concerned about a "transfer of guilt" and a "spillover effect" in the minds of jurors trying to categorize evidence against different defendants. 
   
   In denying the state's motion to join the cases, Williams agreed that much of the evidence would not be "mutually admissible." His ruling means there will be six trials. 
   
   Arguments over dismissing the charges and recusing Mosby came after a flurry of heatedly written motions over the past four months. In court Wednesday, Williams cautioned both sides to tone down their rhetoric. 
   
   "The unnecessary name calling and over-the-top rhetoric to which this court has been required to wade in order to get to the heart of the legal issues in this case is remarkable," Williams said.
target: – Written motions finally evolved into verbal arguments this morning in Baltimore, where defense attorneys for two of the six officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray tried to have said charges dismissed and the office of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby recused from the case—attempts that were both rejected by Judge Barry Williams, the Baltimore Sun reports. The defense attorneys argued, among other things, that Mosby had influenced the jury pool by "[adopting] and [encouraging] the public's cry of 'no justice, no peace'" when she publicly announced the charges against the officers in May. Another complaint by the defense: Mosby's judgment was influenced by her husband serving as councilman for a local district that saw a "disproportionate amount of violence" in the days after Gray's death, the AP reports. Williams called that assertion "condescending" and said while he was "troubled" by some of Mosby's comments during her May 1 news conference, the defendants' right to a fair trial wasn't compromised by her statements, per the AP. The hearing is expected to continue this afternoon to determine whether the trial for the six officers should be split up. (In a unrelated story, members of Freddie Gray's family, including Gray himself, were victims of lead poisoning and may have been misled by a settlement company.)