The jury in the public corruption trial of former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht has failed to reach a verdict on any of the federal charges against him, and a judge today declared a mistrial.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab made the announcement at 9:25 a.m. today after the jury told him it remained hopelessly deadlocked following 10 days of deliberations.
The government immediately announced it would try the case again and Judge Schwab set May 27 for the start of a new trial.
But he gave the defense until April 18 to file motions to fight a new trial and have the charges dismissed.
And he strongly advised jurors not to discuss the case, either with reporters or with attorneys for either side, until after any second trial.
Members of Dr. Wecht's defense team reacted strongly to the prosecution's immediate announcement that it would retry the case.
"We've said all along that these charges should never have been brought," said Dick Thornburgh, himself a former federal prosecutor. "And clearly after the expenditure of untold millions of dollars and the devotion of time and resources of the Department of Justice to this case -- a nickel-dime prosecution, when there is rampant crime, terrorism, other kinds of threats that affect the American people -- to spend all this time on this case, and to announce immediately that they want to retry it after they have utterly failed -- utterly failed -- in their efforts to convict Dr. Wecht, is a miscarriage of justice."
Defense attorney Jerry McDevitt reiterated his belief that the prosecution was politically motivated. Dr. Wecht is a Democrat and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is a Republican.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08099/871436-100.stm
How is Wecht's case is selected prosecution? House committee had a hearing on October 23, 2007 on Wecht:
A former attorney general with close ties to the Bush administration testified Tuesday that he believes the Justice Department is pursuing a high-profile Pennsylvania Democrat for political reasons.
Dick Thornburgh, the attorney general under President Bush's father, told the House Judiciary Committee that allegations against Cyril Wecht, a Democratic coroner from Pennsylvania, amount to "nickel and dime stuff."
The 84-count indictment against Wecht is not a typical federal corruption case, Thornburgh said. There is no allegation that he received a bribe or a kickback or had a conflict of interest. Instead, Wecht is accused of violating mostly county codes and state ethic provisions — such as misusing a state-owned fax machine.
Thornburgh described Wecht as the "perfect target" for a Republican prosecutor: contentious, outspoken and living in the Democratic stronghold of Western Pennsylvania.
"He would qualify as an ideal target for a Republican U.S. attorney trying to curry favor with a department which demonstrated that if you play by its rules, you will advance," Thornburgh said.
The Wecht case is part of the Judiciary panel's ongoing investigation into whether the Justice Department has filed charges against prominent Democrats in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Wisconsin for partisan political gain.
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2007/10/24/BC_JUSTICE_POLITICS24_COX.html
Mary Beth Buchanan was mentioned in a memo from the DOJ dump documents from the House committee. Gonzo's aide, Kyle Sampson, consulted Buchanan in 2004 and 2005 about who to fire. Here is an example memo:
Leo Leonard, the sender, was apparently this Republican activist. He was listed by Media Transparency as the Director, Lawyers Division of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Leonard recommended Mary Walker as fired U.S. Attorney of San Diego Carol Lam' s replacement.
Who is Ms. Walker?
Mary Walker was the controversial General Counsel of the Air Force and chief legal officer of the Department of the Air Force in the Bush Administration. She first gained notoriety in the Air Force Academy sexual abuse coverup scandal, and later ignited a firestorm of controversy heading a U.S. Department of Defense group that issued controversial report Legal Arguments for Avoiding the Jurisdiction of the Geneva Conventions in March 2003.
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