PITTSBURGH -- A court decision on Thursday will get the criminal trial for famed forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht back on the docket.

Wecht, the former Allegheny County medical examiner, is charged with theft, mail fraud and wire fraud in the alleged unlawful use of his public office for private financial gain.

On Thursday, Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons reported that the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decided three motions that had been holding up the trial for six months.

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Related: Read The Full Court Opinion (PDF File)

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In the first ruling, the court decided that U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab may serve as the trial judge. Wecht had asked the court to disqualify Schwab, alleging that the judge was biased against him.

While the court criticized Schwab's management of the case, it ruled that Wecht failed to prove bias.

In the second ruling, the court sided with Wecht in his motion to unseal the FBI personnel file on Brad Orsini, the lead FBI agent in the case. Wecht claims that Orsini has been disciplined by the FBI because of his behavior in other cases.

Schwab had unsealed the Orsini records but stayed his order so the government would have an opportunity to appeal, which it did. The 3rd Circuit affirmed Schwab's decision to unseal the records and also affirmed his decision to stay his ruling pending the appeal.

In the third ruling, the court sided with a motion by WTAE-TV Channel 4 and other media to toss out a local federal court rule that prohibits attorneys from discussing federal cases with reporters.

The 3rd Circuit sided with WTAE, saying the rule can only be used to prohibit speech that is substantially likely to materially prejudice ongoing criminal proceedings. In effect, the lawyers in the case are now allowed to talk to reporters.

The most significant effect of Thursday's court rulings is that Wecht's trial can now be rescheduled with Schwab. That means the trial will likely occur in the next few months.

Even though the gag order is lifted, the U.S. Attorney's office had no comment on Thursday's developments. Neither did defense attorney Jerry McDevitt when Team 4 reached him by phone.

While the appellate court upheld the release of personnel records for Orsini, Schwab's secretary said it will be several weeks before the court receives the official mandate from the 3rd circuit.

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