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.
I wasn’t talking about the departed. I was thinking of those who are here and still have a chance to turn to Christ, but would rather revel in spreading hate and evil.
Also, it is one of those passages of the Bible that are misquoted and taken out of context. Looking over the full Chapter 7, I don’t see the problem of telling Salvation to leave evil people alone during Lent and concentrate on Christ.
For a Protestant, you sure seem to have a lot of interest in the Catholic Church.
The pesky "technical error" on the part of the commonwealth will unknit the case. This article is really about three articles rolled into one, and not terribly well written.
Seems to me the judge tried to get the Monsignor to give up his church lawyers because, she suggested, they would hang him out the dry to save themselves. She implied that his best bet was to turn state's evidence against the archdiocese. He declined and she was shocked. Big whoop - let the discovery begin.
And the Monsignor has some tenuous relationship to his lawyer because he was director of vocations for a span of 12 years during which some of the alleged abuses occurred and at some time during that period his lawyer was a seminarian? State needs to put its cards on the table, which, apparently, they will do within thirty days.
Finally, big mouth judge blurted out that she knew what she was talking about because she was the only one other than the prosecutors who had seen all the evidence. This seems to be a major no-no, withholding evidence from the defense.
In this judge vs defense attorney dust-up it may have been a case of noisy meets stupid. Philly is trying to prosecute a case like a shakedown and will botch it in the process.
Sorry, but from a Christian standpoint I can’t take a thing you say seriously.
Prayers for the pedophiles and silence for the victims.
It’s stuff like this that often makes me wonder if Catholics are brainwashed.
Unreal...
I
don’t
care
what
you
think.
:)
Just curious, what denomination of protestant are you?
Why do you ask?
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, facts notwithstanding.
Good grief, sounds like Vatican defense attorney DeSipio is a also Freeper.
No one is "reveling in spreading hate and evil" other than the pederast priests and those who protect and promote them.
Pastor Eddie Thomas (Ringgold, LA, Charged) St. Luke Baptist Church
Rev. Gene Francis (Florida, Charged) Church of the Nazarene
Rev. David Valencia (Arizona, Charged) assistant pastor at Christ Church at Grove Farm
Youth Pastor Marty A. Hynes (Charged, 8 counts) First Assembly of God church
Louis Anguiano (JH, Charged) elder at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
Pastor Dennis Larry Shaw (IL, charged) Baptist
Minister Sabala (Guilty) Four-Square Church
Rev. Thomas Masters (Florida, guilty) New Macedonia Church
Pastor Barasda (RI, Guilty)
Pastor Anthony Shafer (OH, convicted) non-denominational church
Rev. Joseph A. Rinaldi (VT, Guilty) Newbury Bible Church
Pastor Garry Toavs (guilty) pastor of Evergreen Alliance Church
Youth Minister Anthony Waters (Guilty)
Pastor Ilger (Guilty) Hope Chapel of the Valley
Pastor Kemp (NY, convicted) Mount Zion Baptist Church
Youth Minister Charles Richard Willits (Texas, convicted) Youth minister Kurt Danskin (WI, pleaded guilty)
Youth Minister William Bell (SC, guilty) Youth Minister Rex Jason (OK, guilty) River of Life Church
Youth Minister Spain (TN, guilty) First Assembly of God Church *********************************************************
Pastor Barasda (resigned from Rhode Island to Maryland)
Pastor Kerry Clyde Martin (CA, molested children at three other churches before being caught)
dozen church elders decided unanimously that pastor Rev. Lawrence French, who says he is innocent, should remain as pastor. Convinced that the 72-year-old pastor could not have committed the alleged offenses, they also concluded that it would be unfair to French to notify other members of the church about the allegations. (The Boston Globe, November 1, 2002)
Pastor Ilger (CA, "We've lived and learned a painful lesson," the Rev. Jeff Fischer of Hope Chapel said outside court. Fischer has said he and about 30 church elders knew that Ilger had molested young girls before he was hired." (emphasis mine) )
I guess many Churches have a lot to answer for.
There's nothing "Christian" about Roman Catholic apologists denying the rampant sexual abuse within their church and instead criticizing those who draw attention to it.
Thirty-seven priests in one diocese in Philadelphia suspended for possible sexual abuse of children.
Thirty-seven. There's nothing comparable. Can you imagine if 37 pastors were suspended in one Presbyterian presbytery???
It's unimaginable.
37.
I think you'll find its small.
Not just claim.
Demonstrate.
Lucky Rome, eh?
The breaks just keep falling its way.
Did the judge demonstrate?
What do you call a Catholic priest who sexually abuses kids? Father. (Vost majority of cases)
What do you call a Protestant minister who abuses kids? Inmate. (With 2 exceptions)
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