Posted on 03/26/2011 12:59:03 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg
At an intensely combative and vitriolic hearing Friday afternoon in a sex-abuse case that has shaken the Philadelphia Archdiocese to its core, a state court judge shocked one priest's defense attorney by disclosing that the government thinks he might be a witness as a former seminarian and could be disqualified from the case. The lawyer, who represents one of three current and former Roman Catholic priests charged with raping boys in their parish, fired back that prosecutors were being "anti-Catholic" and had uttered an "abomination."
Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes told defense attorney Richard DeSipio that she's received information that "might make you, in fact, a witness because of events that occurred while you were a seminarian."
The information "stems from the fact that you attended the seminary with a student who asserts he was abused," Hughes said, adding that DeSipio "may possess factual knowledge about abuse that occurred with that student."
She added that the substance of the claim that DiSipio witnessed something is still unclear. "I just don't know if it's true," Hughes said. "I really don't know if it's true."
Yelling and visibly upset, DeSipio demanded that the government, then and there, identify the source of the allegation. "Let them spill it out right now!" DeSipio demanded.
"How dare they send you a letter about that," DeSipio said, referring to the district attorney's office. "That's an abomination."
Prosecutors said only that part of DeSipio's seminary training overlapped with the tenure of a senior clergyman accused of endangering children by failing to protect them from priests with a known history of abuse.
Monsignor William Lynn, now pastor of St. Joseph Church in Downingtown, Pa., is reportedly the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States ever to be charged with child endangerment. Between 1984 and 1992, he served as dean of men at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., according to his biography on St. Joseph's website. As the secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, Lynn acted as personnel director for priests. He is accused of ignoring reports of abuse, covering up for them and putting children in danger.
"They are anti-Catholic. I'll say it," DiSipio fumed. "[The district attorney is] attacking me as a Catholic!"
The judge rejected DiSipio's claim. "Attack you? You attacked me! You don't even know me!" Hughes said, referring to a prior argument over the necessity of a preliminary hearing, another hotly contested issue Friday afternoon.
"Mr. DeSipio, I suggest you shut up," Hughes said. "People are coming from out of the woodwork [to provide information to the commonwealth.]"
If the government can prove the allegation is credible in 30 days, DeSipio will be disqualified as the archdiocese's attorney.
"You can change lawyers now, you can change lawyers in 30," the judge warned DeSipio's client, the Rev. James Brennan. "[But] there are some conflicts that are not waivable."
DeSipio argued that the 30-day investigation was "really unfair to Father Brennan," given his mounting legal costs.
Judge Hughes was livid that DeSipio spoke up again. "If you open your mouth one more time I am going to have the sheriff take you out of here," she told DeSipio.
As DeSipio continued to argue, Hughes said she might have him "locked up and held in contempt." Instead she issued a gag order, responding to what she observed as attorneys having "gone to the airways to advocate."
"No more interviews with anyone," the judge ruled.
"Does that include the DA going on Chris Matthews' 'Hardball' and going to the New York Times," defense attorney Michael McGovern asked.
The judge responded affirmatively: "I don't want tweets. I don't want Facebook. I don't want IMs [instant messages]."
Hughes said the court will revisit the gag order on April 15, when defendants are to be arraigned. That date also marks the deadline for the DA to provide the defense with the first batch of discovery, she said.
All but one of the defense attorneys challenged the government's amendment to its case, which added a conspiracy charge that had not explicitly been requested of the grand jury.
"The issue here is that if the DA seeks to amend, it has to be subject to some sort of prima facie determination," the defense argued.
The judge found otherwise, ruling that the commonwealth established "good cause" in its pleadings and that "there is no constitutional right - federal or state - for a preliminary hearing."
It was "a technical error on the commonwealth not to charge conspiracy" originally, Hughes said. "Conspiracy is made," and the defendants will not be afforded a preliminary hearing, she ruled.
Hughes said there was abundant evidence to support the amendment.
"I'm the only person, besides the prosecutors, who has seen every stitch of evidence," she said.
Defense attorney McGovern argued that her admission was precisely the problem.
"Your Honor, this is patently unfair!" McGovern said. "You know the evidence. They know the evidence. I don't know what the evidence is! I haven't seen any!"
The attorney said proceeding to trial without a preliminary hearing was like saying, "Let's have a dart game in a dark room."
"What kind of country is this where we have this?" he shouted.
The judge yelled back, baring her teeth: "You sit down! Sit, sit, sit!"
DeSipio agreed with McGovern that their clients deserve a preliminary hearing, which could allow them to confront their accusers.
"There's no witness. I know that they [the prosecutors] don't like that he's in jail," DeSipio said. "This accuser says there was an erect penis in his buttocks."
"Was it in your buttocks, or was it in your anus," he asked rhetorically. "If that question wasn't asked [of the grand jury], and he didn't specify anus or butt cheeks, I have a right to ask that."
"What you can't do, and what I submit they're trying to do, is say just because we have a grand jury, we have good cause [to by-pass a preliminary hearing]," DeSipio said.
The judge also addressed a potential conflict of interest concerning Monsignor Lynn, who unlike the three current and former priests, faces child endangerment charges - not rape or sexual assault. Plans for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to pay Lynn's legal costs present "a whole array of conflicts that I can't even imagine at this point in time," Hughes said.
"It's real simple," the judge said to Lynn, who was donning his clerical collar, "your master is the person that's putting bread on the table."
"It may be in your best interest to put forth a defense that attacks other people [or the church]," Hughes said.
She told Lynn he was putting himself in the position of receiving "advice from people who are being paid by people whose interests don't necessarily align with yours."
The stakes of this gamble could amount to "14 years of incarceration versus probation," she said.
Lynn, in a calm voice, declined. "Well, I trust these two men." he said, adding that the church hadn't placed any conditions on the payment of his legal costs.
Hughes was incredulous. "You are making a knowing, voluntary and intelligent decision to place yourself in conflict with your attorneys?" she asked.
"I am," Lynn responded, waiving his right to any future appeal based on the argument that his attorneys had a conflict of interest.
"Then we're moving forward," the judge said.
After arraignments and release of the first batch of discovery, which will include grand jury notes and testimony, on April 15, the government will begin putting together a second batch. The government said that batch would take longer to produce, as it will include roughly 10,000 pages of documentation, much of which will need to be redacted.
Hughes said the government must give the defense a specific timeline for the production of the second batch. "There has to be some finality," she said.
In January, a grand jury returned an indictment for rape and sexual assault against one current priest, one defrocked priest and one man who taught at a Catholic school. Monsignor Lynn, the third cleric who worked for the archdiocese as secretary of clergy, is accused of giving known abusers easy access to minors.
You were posting the photobucket pixs.
This so called "photobucket incident" was mainly between Titanites and Quix. I had no involvement in it, and I did not post any photobucket pixs. Here is the link to the argument:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2680611/posts?q=1&;page=2751
The argument spans multiple pages of posts, and it cannot be reduced to a single post. Anyone can go to the link, read a few pages, and see that I was not involved in the "photobucket incident" and that I did not post any photbucket pixs.
Will you please apologize for repeatedly making the false claim that I never did anything to show I was quoting anyone, for repeatedly quoting me out of context to make it look like I never used quotation marks, for having the nerve to tell me to apologize, for falsely accusing me of having some "photobucket incident', and for falsely accusing me of posting "photobucket pixs?"
lol. Why not make it 250%, Cronos? That would be just as accurate as your statistic. When it comes to the Orthodox Presbyterian church, Cronos' "statistics" have proven unreliable. If you check his homepage, esquirette, you'll find dozens of errors.
The OPC is a very conservative denomination. I doubt the majority voted for Obama. In fact, I don't know any OPC member who is a democrat. They, unlike the RCC, actually do decry immorality, abortion, socialism and homosexuality, individually and as church teaching.
And if you knew anything about the history of the OPC you'd know that members of that church were part of Reagan's kitchen cabinet, and instrumental in getting Reagan elected. Twice.
Cronos litters the forum with errors about the OPC, but you won't hear anyone whining about "anti-OPC bigotry." It's just chalked up to the fact that when there is no defense for the ignorance and destruction within the RCC, it's a lot easier to lash out at other churches, regardless of the truth.
You won't find anyone in the OPC or PCA or any other Protestant denomination praying to a human being; not to Calvin or Machen or Luther or Falwell or Spurgeon or any other Godly man who preaches the Gospel in truth. Those men preached the Good News of Christ risen; they did not forgive sins or "co-redeem" or "further justify" or answer prayers or mediate between God and men or any of the hundreds of acts of grace only God performs which Rome attributes to fallen sinners like Mary and popes and dead saints and various pederast "alter Christus."
The RCC has a real problem on its hands. Thousands of its children have been raped by pederast priests who were protected and promoted by the RCC hierarchy. That's a pretty uncomfortable reality to face. Apparently some choose to deny that fact and make up stories about other churches rather than to clean its own house.
Such willful denial of the corruption at the heart of the RCC only leads to more children being destroyed, more faith being abandoned and more of society being deconstructed into the socialism we see today where 54% of Roman Catholics actually DID vote for Obama, therefore handing him the election.
What a sad and dangerous blindness. May God help Rome's children, even if Rome won't.
Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain." -- Ezekiel 22:25-27 "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
The RCC has a real problem on its hands. Thousands of its children have been raped by pederast priests who were protected and promoted by the RCC hierarchy.
And that is the issue, isn't it? Yet, there are plenty of attempts to deflect the thread away from this major issue.
Way to go, Doc! Excellent post.
And... it WILL leave a mark. ;)
Hoss
So glad you clarified the baseless nature of the statistic provided. Thanks.
INDEED.
MUCH AGREE.
As a general rule, often such parades . . . and there are several who propagate them in the RC camp . . . Peacocks strutting with frazzled feathers can be occasionally interesting after a fashion . . . kind of as models of what to avoid becoming.
Already explained in posts 1119, 1126, 1130, and 1177. I'm not explaining again when I already gave four perfectly fine explanations, particularly in posts 1130 and 1177.
I would like to personally guarantee that no one in my reformed Presbyterian church voted for Obama!
Some voted for third party candidates, but none for Obama!!
What an allegation!
Source for this statistic?
Hoss
lol. That doesn't matter when the intention is to mow down everything within range of the RCC which might have occasion to criticize her.
Thanks again for posting facts.
Some voted for third party candidates, but none for Obama!!
What an allegation!
Wow. How many churches can say that?
How fortunate you are to fellowship with such a congregation.
“Wow. How many churches can say that?”
Having been in a reformed Presbyterian culture for many decades I’d honestly assume that most if not all similar congregations across the U.S. could say the same thing.
Amen. That's my experience, too.
To:presently no screen name; Cronos; metmom; HossB86
What does cronos have to do with this?
Your scattergun use of quotation marks is incorrect and thus confusing, making it unclear who said what.
It’s helpful to learn html. It’s actually pretty simple and helps to prevent the kind of grammatical mistakes found in your posts.
Try this link for learning how to avoid these kinds of errors in the future...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285967/posts
I'm sick of dealing with you. Are you ever going to own up to your mistakes?
Perhaps I thought he would be interested. Don't lecture me about pinging people unnecessarily if you haven't said anything to metmom about posts like 944 and 1094. Not that there's anything wrong with metmom doing that, except that she pinged so many people to false statements about me and refuses to make amends.
People ping others unnecessarily all the time to posts. The fact that you are bringing this up is a sign of desperation to avoid the fact that you have said false things about me.
No, it's not.
and thus confusing, making it unclear who said what.
Maybe to those of a lower intellect who don't know how to refer to a previous post if they ever get confused. I guess I did forget who my audience is.
Try this link for learning how to avoid these kinds of errors in the future...
Thank you, but I am finding this site linked from free republic to be handy, myself:
http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/
Is that what you're saying? Because every source cited gives those percentages...
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Good. Whatever site helps you not to repeat the grammatical errors found in your other posts.
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