End This Mess

I say that the inquisition trial of Allegheny County, PA coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht (pictured) has gone on long enough.

According to The Morning Call in this report from last Friday…

The jury in the fraud trial of celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht declared an impasse Thursday, but the judge instructed jurors to return Monday for more deliberations.

Jurors sent U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab a note Thursday, their ninth day of deliberations after the seven-week trial on the 41-count indictment. Wecht is charged with wire fraud, mail fraud and theft for allegedly using his former Allegheny County coroner's staff and resources to benefit himself and his multimillion-dollar private practice.

''After considering all counts in a variety of ways and in reconsideration of all individual opinions according to the court's instructions, we have unanimously agreed we have reached an impasse and respectfully request direction from the court,'' the jurors said. ''We agree additional deliberation would not be helpful.''

Schwab rejected the prosecutors' request to send a note to the jury asking whether they have a unanimous verdict on any of the charges. Under case law, judges have to be careful in responding to jury questions to avoid the appearance of suggesting a particular verdict.

And this tells us that it took an appeals court seven months to rule on whether or not Judge Schwab should continue to even preside over the trial, with Wecht’s attorneys asking for Schwab’s disqualification, as follows…

Wecht's lawyers asked the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to remove U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab from the case, claiming the judge showed bias, in part, by issuing a series of one-way rulings after secret communication with prosecutors and for keeping the defense attorneys from questioning the lead FBI agent in the case about his disciplinary file.

A three-judge panel from the 3rd Circuit voted, 2-1, to keep Schwab on the case. Judges D. Michael Fisher and Julio M. Fuentes ruled that Wecht's lawyers failed to demonstrate a "deep-seated" or "high-degree" of favoritism. Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Myron H. Bright dissented.

And this is a reminder that the case against Wecht was originally brought to trial by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, whose last waste of our taxpayer dollars took place in pursuit of that hardened offender and threat to society Tommy Chong (the worst Chong is liable to do is blow a puff of marijuana smoke in your face).

So, it looks like we have a judge who leaked evidence to the prosecution in a case brought by a self-aggrandizing Bushco operative resulting in jury deliberations that began on March 18 and apparently have no end in sight (hell, this case stinks so bad that even a fellow Repug, one Dick Thornburgh by name, told Buchanan to drop it here).

End this mess.

Update 4/9/08: To even consider retrying this case is pathetic (here).

Update 4/11/08: And the farce continues (h/t Atrios)...