Wecht Prosecutors Must Go
The United States Attorneys Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania should be removed from further duties related to the Cyril Wecht case. The public statements they are making to the press and in pleadings are duplicitous and misleading.
When it was discovered that the FBI was interviewing jurors in the case after the declaration of a mistrial last week, the spokesperson for the office stated:
“It is commonplace for the prosecuting attorneys and investigating agency, in this case the FBI, to participate in the post-verdict discussion with the jurors. Often that occurs before the jury leaves the courthouse. In this case the jury was excused before the attorneys and agents had an opportunity to speak with the members.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. In nearly 25 years of practice in a variety of federal courts, I have never seen, or heard of government prosecutors, or federal agents, trying to speak with jurors. In this case, that contact is even more remarkable, given the trial judges instructions for the jurors to keep their own counsel at the conclusion of the trial.
Now, in filings in district court, AUSA Stephen Stallings is railing against what he calls the defense counsel’s singular attempt to wage a media campaign to generate prejudicial pretrial publicity. Stallings was even so brazen as to write that the defense had “coordinated a false and prejudicial media blitz of staggering proportions” that was “amplified by the media”.
Mr. Stallings – here’s a crazy idea – when you bring a case that has no merit, and the jury deadlocks in favor of the defendant, and then you send your stormtroopers out to interview the jurors – guess what – it looks bad. But, the only one making you look bad is yourself because you’ve lost all sense of perspective in your myopic efforts at conviction.
A new set of eyes from Main Justice needs to review this case.
