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.
“Did ya ever wonder how an ANGEL became a saint ?”
I may have at some point.
“That is a designation of a human that was saved.”
Apparently, not always.
“that is something Catholics can not understand and never could”
Your assertions are comical.
That struck me like a ball bat upside the head, too.
SCRIPTURE DECLARES that our works of righteousness are as a used minstral rag.
That the ONLY righteousness we have ANY claim to is CHRIST’S BLOOD over us . . .
Sheesh what hubris to the max.
What hideous blasphemy the RCC seems to exalt in!
Its a shame that the truth is funny to you.
Sometimes
it SEEMS like
The RC’s hereon and elsewhere are
uhhh . . . literally hell-bent . . .
on making sure that the REALITIES OF THE RCC
displayed and demonstrated hereon
are much worse than the most outrageous Monty Python version thereof.
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.
It's still in the preliminary stages from the looks of it. I see her getting criticized for the defense attorney not being notified before, and then getting criticized for notifying him. Maybe there would have been a better way of handling it, but it looks like she's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't.
To deny my point that there are more Catholics than members of any other “denomination,” you say that there are more Protestants than Catholics. There would be no reason for you to say that, unless you were saying that Protestantism is a denomination.
“If and when you get around to posting anything other than errors and insults, be sure to let us know.”
Talking to yourself?
Partly because there is still anger at the Republican Party for the despicable way that they treated Catholics in the 1800s and 1900s, and partly because Catholics listened to more than the abortion message - many of them fell for the Democratic platform one more time.
However, if you look at the numbers between 2004 and 2008, Catholics moved towards the Democrats by about the same percentage as the Protestants did - it is just that the Protestants stayed just under 50%, while the Catholics moved just over 50%.
Catholics are making the trends toward the Republican Party with strong Christian values - I introduce in evidence the fact that Catholics are 67% of SCOTUS and Protestants do not occupy a single chair. And all were appointed by Protestant Presidents. Are you curious, yourself, about that? :)
Evidently you really believe what you wrote in that post.
Incredible.
Sometimes RC thought processes seem as convoluted, obtuse, mysterious & illogical as their Catechism!
“And this, in a nutshell, is the proof of the apostasy: a group of fallible, sinful humans CLAIM that they (The Roman Catholic Church) in some way — in any way — have ANY say in the standards set by Almighty God.”
Using that logic, we can’t trust the Bible, because it was written by sinful, fallible humans.
“Here’s a newsflash: God is SOVEREIGN. He and He alone has set the standard; He and He alone determines those who are saved. Man has NOTHING to say about it.”
I don’t know why that’s a newsflash. Who disagrees with that?
“As to why I put “Church” in quotations? To differentiate The True Church (all those called and regenerated) from the Roman Catholic Church that makes the claim of one true church. A false claim at best.”
Your idea of “The True Church” is a manmade invention.
“Where, in scripture, does it state that Mary was “taken” into Heaven?
Where, in scripture, does it state that Mary provides “intercession”?
Where, in scripture, does it state that Mary is an “Advocate,” “Helper,” “Benefactress,” or “Mediatrix?”
And that last one is the kicker — Mediatrix? Really? Where in scripture did God say this? So..... “
You’re acting like Sola Scriptura isn’t some man made heretical invention when you demand for things to be in scripture.
“No amount of saying, “no it doesn’t” will change the cold, hard FACT that the Roman Catholic “Church” is a false church — apostate and heretical.”
You’re opinions are cold, hard facts?
“Most proddys are allergic to whining.”
Most “proddys” are not the raving anti-Catholics who post on threads like these.
Do you think that a Catholic President would appoint a Protestant SCOTUS? Just an interesting point of conversation, IMO :)
One or the other, if disqualified as a witness no one can call him as such, no one. Hence an investigation.
“Also, when you name an opposing counsel as a witness it had darned well be about something that's going to be MEANINGFUL. If they don't have photos no one is going to be interested in a letter.”
True but calling opposing counsel is not normally possible unless they leave the case.
This defence attorney seems to be making his own problems with the judge...not a smart move, I would think.
I dunno.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
The history tells us that the KJV was a political entity commissioned at the behest of the King (more likely one of his advisors) because the Geneva Bible was hated, and the Bishop's Bible was not very highly thought of. The translation was approved by a bought and paid for committee of Parliament.
Actually, James was busy being a public catamite, utilizing the public purse. Sir Walter Raleigh joked that King Elizabeth had been succeeded by Queen James, for instance.
The judge was obviously letting him know so they could deal with the situation.
He needed to make a decision.
And as for blowing a gasket over the fact that the prosecution and judge saw the materials before he did, well, that is going to happen, isn’t it?
How would it be physically possible for the prosecution to pull together all the materials and decide what it’s going to use and not see it FIRST???
Duh! Of course they’re going to know what they’re using before the defense finds out.
The defense lawyer is showing gross unprofessional behavior. Any lawyer who cannot control himself in the courtroom like that is too immature to be handling the case. If he’s upset, fine, he’s upset. But to rage like that and name call and hurl accusations. He’s fortunate indeed that the judge exercised more self-control than he did.
You mean answers.com is not a friend of Christianity. Can you not find a more reputable site that trashes the Church?
Sounds like a good Protestant site, but I'm having trouble getting to it.
“The judge is trying to get out of handling this one”.
If she was there surely are easier ways but it appears that the judge is the kernel of your objections.
and now I'm off for the night.
I don't know of ANY
“raving anti-[Roman] Catholics”
on FR.
A number of us Proddys are quite fiercely against the idolatries, blasphemies and outrageous heresies of the RCC and say so rather forcefully and persistently.
THAT'S quite
DIFFERENT from being against individuals who happen to choose to be identified with the RCC and own its dogma.
I realize that most RC’s on FR seem to have a genetic incapacity to distinguish between
DIFFERENT
vs
SAME
however, a valiant effort to do so is still admired for the try.
No wonder the magicsterical political power-mongers of 300-400 AD setting up the RCC couldn't distinguish that Christ was talking about the TYPE OF FAITH Peter had instead of about Peter.
Though . . . perhaps the gross error was deliberate in behalf of self-serving political power-mongering alone.
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