Graham Spanier Beats The Rap; Will Ruling Help Msgr. Lynn?

[francofan]

Ralph Cipriano latest blog post is on U.S. Mgistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick's ruling in favor of Graham Spanier's writ of habeas corpus that threw out Spanier's misdemeanor conviction because his constitutional rights had been violated. Cipriano demonstrated the similarities between Spanier's case and that of Msgr. William J. Lynn, former secretary of clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and surmises that Mehalchick's ruling will support Msgr. Lynn in his bid to avoid a retrial on child endangerment charges.

Cipriano includes comments from Spanier's lawyers ripping Attorney General Josh Shapiro's grandstanding statement that he will appeal Mehalchick's ruling:

"We are dismayed that the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the highest law enforcement official in the state, would blatantly and prejudicially misrepresent facts," Spanier's lawyers wrote.

"There is no evidence that Graham Spanier was personally advised that children were being sexually abused," wrote Samuel W. Silver and Bruce P. Merenstein, Spanier's defense lawyers. "And Attorney General Shapiro knows that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made nothing 'crystal clear' about Dr. Spanier's conduct, as it did not hear this case on the merits at any time."

"We are stunned that Mr. Shapiro accuses Dr. Spanier of engaging in a 'cover-up,' when a jury expressly acquitted Dr. Spanier of having engaged in a conspiracy or a continuing course of conduct."

"We will continue to defend Dr. Spanier against this overzealous and unlawful prosecution. And we will continue to do so in the courts, where the dispute belongs -- and not through hyperbolic statements like that of the Attorney General."

Cipriano concludes that if Lynn wants to find justice he may have to do what Spanier did and get the hell out of Pennsylvania.

Cipriano's reporting on the fiasco have consistenly been the best available reports because of his insightful observations imho.

http://www.bigtrial.net/2019/05/graham-spanier-beats-rap-will-ruling.html

 

[LurkerLazarus]

I'd rather not muddy the waters here.

 

[Ian]

Some things will never end cause too many people are making money off it.... like lawyers. Just keep it rolling although this one’s flame is just flickering. Hope this judge has snuffed it out for good.

 

[NICNEM_PSU80]

The PA AG is a fool. He has no chance in his appeal in federal court because some level of fairness and the law will be applied instead of the corrupt mess that exists in the PA court system. The AG can only win in PA where the ruling elite formerly led by the puppet master Tom Corbutt acted like a king instead of following the rule of law. Ultimately in time both Curley and Schutz's plea will be shown as a coerced confession to a law that did not apply so that they could end the pain of malicious prosecution by the AG to protect Corbutt and not those who were abused. Years may pass before this is over but the PA system of lack of justice is being exposed as a fraud and will bite the AG's office and several judges in the butt and lead to the removal of several people from office and hopefully some fines, loss of licenses and hopefully but not likely jail time, starting with Corbutt.