PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com
by Joseph A. Slobodzian, Staff Writer @JoeSlobo | jslobodzian@phillynews.com
A Philadelphia judge on Friday denied a defense motion to abort the child endangerment retrial of Msgr. William J. Lynn because of prosecutorial misconduct.
In a brief decision from the bench, Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright said city prosecutors should have told Lynn’s lawyers about a detective’s doubt about the credibility of one of their key witnesses at Lynn’s 2012 trial.
Bright, however, said it was “not intentional prosecutorial misconduct” and its impact on Lynn’s defense did not warrant the extreme penalty of dismissing the charge against the 66-year-old cleric.
Lynn’s retrial had been scheduled to start in May. Now, the future of the case is uncertain. Bright told defense attorney Thomas A. Bergstrom he may appeal her ruling to the state Superior Court and Bergstrom said he is considering doing so.
That decision will not be made until after a hearing Tuesday on two other evidentiary issues in the case. A pretrial appeal could add months, or years, more before Lynn’s retrial could be scheduled.
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