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Thursday, September 28, 2006

Ind. Decisions - More on: "Appeals court throws out conviction"

Updating this ILB entry from Monday, about a Court of Appeals ruling Sept. 19th in the case of Joseph Stellwag v. State of Indiana, Seth Slabaugh of the Muncie StarPress reports today:

MUNCIE -- Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Wayne Lennington is blaming obsolete court recording equipment for an appeals court ruling that entitles a criminal suspect to a new jury trial.

County council this week appropriated $16,000 to help fund a new digital, computerized recording system for Lennington's court, to replace an obsolete, cassette-recording system for which parts are no longer available.

"Everybody I'm sure read in the newspaper where the appellate court slapped me," Lennington told council members. "I had told this ... defendant not to talk to his attorney so that the jury could hear him. We went back in and started, and this woman took the stand, and he said in a voice everyone could hear, 'She's a liar.'

"So I immediately blew my top and really got on him, and that's how I got reversed. The part of this you don't understand is, when the court reporter was taking the record from the courtroom as it was recorded, she could not hear (the defendant's comment). It wasn't picked up, so I got whacked for it. This is going to cure that."

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled last week that accused batterer Joseph Stellwag, who was tried in Lennington's court on Aug. 16, 2005, was entitled to a new trial. Stellwag contended that Lennington made remarks throughout the trial that established that the judge was partial, thus denying him a fair trial. * * *

Trial judges must be given latitude to run their courtrooms and maintain discipline and control of the trial, the appeals court ruled.

However, Lennington crossed the line of impartiality when he admonished the defendant in front of the jury rather than first excusing the jury, the appellate court ruled. The ruling also cited other incidents in which Lennington expressed partiality during the trial.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 28, 2006 11:02 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions