Sandusky lawyers raise appeal issue on timing

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MARK SCOLFORO and GENARO C. ARMAS

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - Jerry Sandusky's lawyers said Saturday they tried to quit at the start of jury selection in his child sex abuse trial because they weren't given enough time to prepare, raising an argument on the trial's speed that could become the thrust of an appeal.

And one of the jurors who convicted Sandusky of 45 child sex abuse counts said Saturday he was swayed by the "very convincing" testimony of eight accusers who said the ex-Penn State assistant football coach molested them for years.

"It's hard to judge character on the stand, because you don't know these kids," juror Joshua Harper told NBC's "Today" show. "But most were very credible - I would say all."

A day after Sandusky's conviction, his lawyers disclosed they felt too unprepared to adequately defend him because of how quickly the case was brought to trial. Experts have said the seven months between Sandusky's November arrest and trial was fast-paced by Pennsylvania standards.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120623/D9VJ57IG0.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Seven months is inadequate?

They're full of shit.

[bluestateguy]

2. They really want to continue to drag this out?

Shameless.

[Posteritatis]

11. Drawing hourly fees from Sandusky's wallet all the while.. (nt)

[Taverner]

3. Just admit it already, Jerry NT

[freshwest]

4. According to the video by the state AG and other state officials, this was more than 7 months' work.

And it's not like the attorneys hadn't heard about these allegations before, unless they vacationed somewhere without communication devices:

[SoutherDem]

5. I heard they would appeal last night

I think is is just normal lawyer talk.

I also heard the other side said they had more victims which could bring new charges, that they didn't use these just in case he was found innocent.

I don't think Sandusky has much of a chance.

[southerncrone]

9. Sounded like his victims didn't have much of a chance, either.

He is just a mess. I think that community just wants him GONE. He has brought so much shame to the school & town.
Would seem it'd take a magician of an attorney years to defend him......and then still have a hard time convincing 12 people he was "just set up by these young men for money" & they were lying about him.

[tandot]

6. So, they needed more time to come up with a good excuse why he raped little boys?

Disgusting pieces of shit. I'd never be able to be a lawyer knowing that I'd have to defend disgusting, vile pieces of shit.

[Angry Dragon]

7. If you can not put together a defense in 7 months then you are a poor lawyer

[sofa king]

12. In this case, the only real defense was delay.

The guy was nailed down with corroborated eyewitness testimony, in dozens of incidents spanning years. That's what every prosecutor wants.

For the defense, the case is what one of Tom Wolfe's fictional characters would call a "piece 'a shit." The perpetrator's lack of contrition in the face of overwhelming evidence helped not at all.

In a case like that, the only real defense is to prolong the procedure so that the defendant can stay out of jail and/or enjoy better conditions inside, then play the longshot cards of appeals.

It would appear that the prosecution was prepared for such a tactic and was better prepared for that as well.

So, as the old saying goes, if one can pound neither the law nor the facts, one pounds the table. That's what these guys are doing.

[Lugnut]

8. I call BS.

They could've been given a year or more to prepare and the result would've been the same. The minute Amendola allowed Sandusky to grant an interview to Bob Costas they had no defense. His responses were downright creepy. Pairing that with the credible testimony from the victims who took the stand it's hard to find anything that could have been defended.

[southerncrone]

10. Sometimes I wondered if his attorneys

didn't want him to be convicted. After all, they live in that community, too. Some of the lame arguments & the interviews seemed almost negligent on their part.

[vankuria]

13. Given all the years

Sandusky had been abusing young boys while everyone around him turned a blind eye, a speedy trial was absolutely justified. When you read the history of his abuse there were so many instances where authorities could have nailed this monster and had him locked up for good. Due to this horrible atrocity Sandusky was allowed to continue his crimes and while you can't change the past, a speedy trial brought justice and I hope some closure to the abused.

And as we all know no matter how long they waited for a trial, the same evidence would've been presented and the same guilty outcome.