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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Sandusky judge schedules hearing to address defense post-trial relief

Judge john m. cleland3

The judge handling the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse case has scheduled oral arguments

for post-trial relief that had been requested by the defense this month.

In an Oct. 25 order, Judge John M. Cleland set Dec. 10 as the hearing date during which he will address post-trial motions that were recently filed by attorneys Joseph Amendola, Karl Rominger and Norris Gelman on behalf of Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was convicted of child molestation following a June jury trial.

Earlier this month, Sandusky was sentenced to between 30 and 60 years in state prison for sexually abusing 10 underage boys during a 15-year time period.

The defense is seeking to have Cleland overturn Sandusky’s conviction and order a new trial in the case.

In the Oct. 25 order, Cleland granted the defense until Nov. 9 to file an amended post-sentence motion raising additional grounds for relief.

The judge also instructed defense lawyers to file a brief in support of their post-sentencing motion.

The brief must include a specific reference to the record where all post-sentence issues have been preserved and a reference to where the court has ruled on any issue previously raised, the order states.

The judge gave prosecutors until Dec. 5, five days before the hearing, in which to submit a reply brief.

In their near 30-page post-sentencing motion, which was filed Oct. 18, Sandusky’s attorneys argued that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.

They also complained about not having enough time in which to prepare a proper defense, and additionally raised the issue of not being allowed to introduce expert witness testimony.

The state legislature passed a law halfway through the trial that allows for expert witness testimony to be given in rape cases.

Prior to the law’s passage, Pennsylvania remained the only state in which such testimony was prohibited specifically in rape trials.

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