tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post7357872102239626334..comments2023-10-22T09:32:13.417-04:00Comments on Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog: D.A. Says Lynn Reversal Sends Out "Dismal" MessageAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04116104602505815614noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-45775316317222823672014-02-07T17:11:23.591-05:002014-02-07T17:11:23.591-05:00Mr. Cipriano - Do you have a link to the Petition ...Mr. Cipriano - Do you have a link to the Petition for Allocatur filed by the Commonwealth? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-31888311210221625172014-01-30T22:17:17.095-05:002014-01-30T22:17:17.095-05:00Thank you for this. I didn't know there were ...Thank you for this. I didn't know there were perjury charges that might hold the Penn State defendants accountable. Nor did I realize that the amended statute may have been thrown into confusion with the appeal to the PA Supreme Court. If that's the case, I hope the Court takes the case to clarify it. I had thought the Court would probably pass on it. Hopefully the matter can be straightened out so that Grand Juries will know what the current law is. Thank you again.SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-48438956066908367732014-01-30T11:22:47.955-05:002014-01-30T11:22:47.955-05:00Appeal is being filed due to need for cover by the...Appeal is being filed due to need for cover by the DA. Once appeal rejected by the Supreme Court, then this will be shuttled over to the warehouse where boxes of documents will gather dust and never read.<br /><br />Same DA filed appeal against Judge Sarmina for revocating the death penalty in Officer Boyle's murder. Again, this is cover designed to appease the FOP and the Boyle family.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12578737874188115992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-68969927406546005752014-01-29T18:49:10.122-05:002014-01-29T18:49:10.122-05:00What a scam, the DA spoke for himself and his offi...What a scam, the DA spoke for himself and his office full of bigoted and arrogant persecutors today, not for anybody else. Wise up, already.JAEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-48983742472060478292014-01-29T14:32:36.992-05:002014-01-29T14:32:36.992-05:00"At risk of telling you something you may alr..."At risk of telling you something you may already know, the Constitution....."<br />Don't worry, Gerard, in responding to bigots like SNAPpy Sarah, that risk is negligible. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-90175335059465980232014-01-29T10:14:34.712-05:002014-01-29T10:14:34.712-05:00The problem with the D.A.'s filing is that it ...The problem with the D.A.'s filing is that it potentially and needlessly muddies the water regarding the effectiveness of the amended statute. The D.A.'s appeal erroneously states that the Superior Court decision could hamper prosecution of individuals not directly supervising children under the amended statute. The Superior Court decision is very carefully written to avoid that interpretation, limiting itself to the statute in effect at the time the abuse occurred. The plain language of the amended statute closes the loophole that prevented prosecution of Msgr. Lynn under the current D.A.'s predecessor. As risk of telling you something you may already know, the Constitution prevents enacting laws designed to prosecute people for acts that were not illegal at the time of their commission (ex post facto laws). Therefore the D.A. could not charge Msgr. Lynn under the amended statute. His reaction to this was to ignore his predecessor's exhaustive research regarding the applicability of the old EWOC statute, reversed her decision and brought charges against Msgr. Lynn. The trial judge dismissed the objections of defense counsel during the trial and the jury convicted based on what it believed was the law.<br /><br />The issue underlying the Penn State prosecutions is quite different and does not involve the EWOC statute. The testimony of Penn State administrators before the Grand Jury mischaracterized their reaction to evidence of Sandusky's attack on a young boy in the showers of the football team's practice facility. If it's found that their testimony was knowingly false they could be convicted of perjury.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10629883128118432629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-8562591802500229102014-01-28T19:24:40.106-05:002014-01-28T19:24:40.106-05:00Even if he can't win his case, I'm glad he...Even if he can't win his case, I'm glad he filed it anyway because it does serve to keep getting the message out there that enabling pedophiles prior to 2007 was not against the law but it is against the law now and one can go to prison for doing it. <br /><br />I guess the Penn State men are going to get off also because of this case. Even there, it's good for everyone to know that what they did at Penn State was not against the law back then but it is now. And people can go to prison for doing it.<br /><br />It's a long, slow journey getting these laws in place to stop this madness against children. It was never going to be easy to stop entrenched pedophiles for crimes which many people find unspeakable. I'm glad the D.A. spoke for the victims and survivors with his appeal today. Let's hope the amended statute will be enforceable going forward. SarahTX2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13127925134697324637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-64300214742451944612014-01-28T16:59:16.616-05:002014-01-28T16:59:16.616-05:00While it's undeniable that Msgr. Lynn's ac...While it's undeniable that Msgr. Lynn's actions led to abusive priests being posted in assignments that provided them the opportunity to prey on victims, it's also clear that the unamended statute was not applicable to persons who did not directly supervise children. To use a "parade of horribles" argument raising the specter of the applicability of the Superior Court's opinion to the new statute (an argument a first year law student could demolish as the opinion goes to great length explaining that its analysis is limited to the unamended statute and is therefore easily distinguished) raises the question whether the office is able to deal with the issue of clergy sexual abuse impartially and professionally. It appears that some in the office have forgotten that law and justice are not synonymous.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10629883128118432629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-29795191744564083042014-01-28T16:08:17.548-05:002014-01-28T16:08:17.548-05:00Any law student would not write such a brief the D...Any law student would not write such a brief the DA has written and has killed many trees in the process of creating a 35 page brief best suitable for the shredder. Such a brief would not only be characterized as "dishonest" but would be returned with many red scribbles from his professor to the chastened law student.<br /><br />If I have it right, the DA would rather use Russian style law to convict defendants instead of doing the grunt work thinking over the ramifications in using the revised version of the EWOC law. This is scary as this very same DA would have had Lynn sentenced to jail for the rest of his life without parole.<br /><br />Equally culpable is Judge Sarmina. She should have granted the defense a motion to dismiss the EWOC charge against Lynn but she refused to do it not once but multiple times during the trial. Had that been done, the trial would have collapsed on its merits. Sarmina wanted a kangaroo trial in order to give abuse victims a chance to vent and that was not her role to do so.<br /><br />Sarmina has transferred over to Civil Court from Criminal Court and it is even scarier to see what she would do in interpreting legal statutes to suit her conception of right and wrong.<br /><br />Seth Williams logic is like the mechanic who spends hours trying to shoehorn Ford parts in a Chevrolet to no avail.<br /><br />It is time for both Seth Williams and Judge Sarmina to leave the legal profession.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12578737874188115992noreply@blogger.com