MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The immunity listening to for an Alabama police officer charged with homicide will continue in March, a legal appeals courtroom dominated, after discovering no proof to toughen the officer’s accusation that the pass judgement on overseeing the case improperly divulged his intentions to rule towards him.
All 5 judges within the state legal appeals courtroom dominated that lawyers for former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette failed to provide “any sworn affidavit or factual proof” that proved Alabama circuit courtroom pass judgement on Charles Elliot had compromised his integrity within the case. Marquette’s attorneys filed an attraction with the state legal appeals courtroom after Elliot denied their movement that he recuse himself.
Marquette is charged with homicide for fatally capturing Steve Perkins in 2023 whilst accompanying a tow-truck driving force to repossess Perkins’ truck. Marquette’s attorneys mentioned Perkins pointed a gun on the tow-truck driving force, and that the officer must be granted immunity below “stand your flooring” regulations, which take away the obligation to retreat sooner than the use of fatal drive within the face of threat.
A neighbor’s house surveillance video, broadcast through WAFF, seems to turn Marquette firing his weapon virtually 20 occasions. The capturing sparked intense public outcry and protests throughout Decatur, a town of roughly 60,000 other folks in northern Alabama. Protesters and civil rights lawyers say Marquette did not give Perkins time to apply his orders.
In a petition to the state courtroom of legal appeals, Marquette’s lawyers accused Elliot of enticing in fallacious communique out of doors of legit courtroom lawsuits on a couple of events, and referred to as for a listening to to provide proof on the ones allegations. In a minimum of one example, Marquette’s attorneys accused Elliot of telling Decatur Police Division Lt. Mike Burleson that he had already determined to disclaim Marquette immunity as a result of the high-profile nature of the case, and out of concern for the security of his circle of relatives and attainable backlash in his 2026 reelection marketing campaign.
The petition cited an unidentified witness who advised Marquette that they overheard the dialog.
In a written affidavit, Elliot mentioned protection attorneys filed the movement for his recusal “recklessly and with fail to remember for the reality.” He mentioned he had an established friendship with Burleson however vehemently denied that the dialog happened.
The recusal petition additionally mentioned Elliot tried to “intimidate” and “bully” one protection legal professional in a decision made on a vacation out of doors of legit courtroom lawsuits. The appeals courtroom dominated that it used to be now not fallacious for Elliot to name the protection legal professional since the name used to be procedural.
Lawyers for Marquette didn’t reply to an emailed request for remark Tuesday morning. A decision to Elliot’s place of job used to be now not returned.
The immunity listening to will start March 25.
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Riddle is a corps member for The Related Press/File for The united states Statehouse Information Initiative. File for The united states is a nonprofit nationwide provider program that puts newshounds in native newsrooms to record on undercovered problems.
