4 Possible Outcomes to Msgr. Lynn’s Pa Supreme Court Appeal.

By Joel Mathis
Philadelphia Magazine
May 12, 2014

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/05/12/4-possible-outcomes-msgr-lynns-pa-supreme-court-appeal/

At BigTrial.net, reporter Ralph Cipriano writes that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court isn’t the last stop for Monsignor William Lynn, who was convicted of child endangerment in the Catholic sex scandal — but then had that conviction overturned on a technicality earlier this year.

Four scenarios:

– The state Supreme Court could decide to affirm the Superior Court ruling that Lynn’s conviction should be reversed; such a decision would immediately end the case .

– Ronald D. Castile, the state Supreme Court’s chief justice, is scheduled to retire at the end of this year because he is 70 years old, the state’s mandatory retirement age for judges. If the Lynn case doesn’t get to the state Supreme Court before Castille steps down in December, and the remaining six members deadlock 3-3, a tie means the Superior Court ruling would stand.

– The state Supreme Court could decide to reverse the Superior Court. The case would then be remanded back to the Superior Court, which would have to decide on other appeal issues raised by Lynn’s defense lawyers.

– The state Supreme Court could decide that the decision to grant a review in the case was “improvidently granted,” and the Superior Court decision would stand.

Cipriano’s sources say it’s possible the state’s highest court could reach a decision that culminates with two more years of appeals. “It could be unending,” Lynn’s lawyer said. Lynn is certainly entitled to those appeals. But the prospect of continued litigation makes “moving on” from the scandal a remote possibility.