Sep 5, 2008 8:34 pm US/Eastern
Wecht May Face Another Trial With New Judge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht may another trial, but it won't be with the same judge.
Wecht's first trial ended in mistrial last April when jurors could not agree if he was innocent or guilty of using government resources to run his private business.
But the Third Circuit Court says Judge Arthur Schwab made several errors when he declared the mistrial. Among them, he didn't poll the jurors and he didn't allow attorneys to question the jury foreman.
But on the question of whether Wecht can be retried, the court is leaving it up to prosecutors to decide if they'll retry Wecht.
The court ruled against Wecht's motion to have the case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.
Upon hearing the news, Wecht remained unusually quiet, referring reporters to his attorneys.
Attorney Jerry McDevitt declined an on-camera interview. In a written statement, McDevitt said he is "disappointed that the court did not find that the constitution prohibited a retrial of Dr. Wecht." But McDevitt expressed hope that a new judge in the case will "fairly decided that Dr. Wecht was entitled to an acquittal."
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan also declined to talk on camera and issued her own statement saying in part that she is "pleased that the court of appeals accepted our position and reached the conclusion that the double jeopardy clause does not preclude a retrial."
Buchanan declined comment on the rest of the court's opinion.
There's a lot at stake. Wecht has already gone $2 million in debt mounting a defense and the government has spent millions to prosecute the case.
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