Guess who appeared on stage during Prince's Rally4Peace in Baltimore

I am not passing judgment on the evidence Marilyn Mosby will present in the her cases against the six Baltimore cops connected to the death of Freddie Gray - because I haven't seen the evidence. Maybe it's rock solid, and if that's the case then convictions will be warranted in spite of the way she's acting.

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But let's talk about the way she's acting. From the moment she announced the charges 10 days ago, Mosby has had the look and the tone of an activist and not of a prosecutor. She actually said, in announcing the charges, that she was at least in part being responsive to the rioters' calls of "no justice, no peace." (The above meme came from Mosby's own Facebook page.) That is not what a prosecutor is supposed to do at all, and that seemed to signal that she had not only decided to level the charges but had rushed into doing so as a way of quieting the mobs. And then there's that moment when the prosecutor who finds herself in the spotlight starts acting like a celebrity, like when Prince shows up in town to perform at a "Rally4Peace" and a certain suddenly famous public official can't help but make her way into the spotlight:

The audience spanned a wide range of ages and backgrounds, much like Prince's fanbase. Many were surprised to see Baltimore's State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby invited on stage shortly after Prince began to perform around 9 p.m. A spokeswoman for Mosby — an avid Prince fan — said late Sunday the tickets were a Mother's Day gift from her husband, Councilman Nick Mosby. Earlier this month, some applauded Mosby as she announced charges for all six officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray. Prosecutors say he died after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody. Mosby has faced criticism about rushing to her decision to charge the officers. Others have accused her of having a conflict of interest. She denies those claims.

I don't suppose she did anything wrong by going to the concert if she's a Prince fan. But by inviting her up on stage, Prince treated her as if she is some sort of hero of the Justice for Freddie crowd. And by accepting the invitation, she came into agreement with that notion. This smacks of a public official who is enjoying her notoriety a little too much. That's when you start playing to the crowd and trying to please them. A prosecutor isn't supposed to do that. A prosecutor is supposed to go on the evidence alone. If everyone in town is convinced of someone's guilt, and demanding their scalp, but you as the prosecutor don't believe the evidence supports the charges - you don't charge. I am not saying that's Mosby's view of the evidence. I'm simply saying she's acting like someone who wants to please the angry mobs and the activists. We'll all be able to pass judgment soon enough on the strenght of her case, but a serious prosecutor wouldn't be acting like a celebrity wannabe in the meantime.

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