PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — One day after a defendant in the Philadelphia clergy abuse case pleaded guilty, the attorneys for two co-defendants have asked for a new jury panel because, they argue, this one was tainted by the latest developments.
Edward Avery, 69, who sat alongside co-defendants Msgr. William Lynn and Father James Brennan during jury selection, is now out of the case. He has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced (see related story), and the prosecution says he has not agreed to testify against his fellow defendants.
But attorneys for Lynn and Brennan have cited the local and national coverage of the Avery development, saying there is no way jurors could have avoided it and not been prejudiced by it.
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