PITTSBURGH -- A federal appeals court on Friday refused to dismiss fraud and theft charges against former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht and said he can be tried again -- but ordered the judge replaced to help ease "rancor in the courtroom."
Wecht's attorneys had asked to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed -- although it found that U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab did not follow proper procedure when he declared a mistrial on April 8.
"The government is pleased that the Court of Appeals accepted our position and reached the conclusion that the double jeopardy clause does not preclude a retrial in this case. We have no comment at this time with respect to the remainder of the Court's opinion," U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said in a statement.
The appeals court did not take sides and say if Wecht should or should not be tried again. That decision is up to Buchanan's office.
"They're saying, 'Look, you can re-prosecute him, but after all the things that have happened here, you should think about whether or not it's worth doing,'" University of Pittsburgh law professor John Burkoff said.
Mark Rush of K&L Gates, the law firm representing Wecht, released a statement thanking the court for considering the appeal and expressing disappointment at the decision.
"Although we are naturally disappointed that the Court did not find that the Constitution prohibited a retrial of Dr. Wecht due to the manner by which the mistrial was declared, we further note that the Court clearly indicated their decision 'does not stand for the proposition that Dr. Wecht must be retried.' In the spirit of that aspect of the decision, we hope the United States Attorney’s Office dispassionately considers whether to do so and ceases this prosecution of Dr. Wecht which, as the Court noted, has already spanned 30 months," the statement said.
Wecht has not commented on the appeals court ruling.
The government accuses Wecht of using his former county staff to benefit his multimillion-dollar private business. He was also charged with mail fraud for allegedly overbilling private clients for bogus travel expenses.
Jurors in Wecht's first trial deliberated for more than 50 hours over 11 days before saying they were "essentially deadlocked." Schwab then declared a mistrial.
The appeals court found "even though there was a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial ... (Schwab) reached that conclusion through a highly flawed set of procedures."
Wecht's defense attorneys claimed that Schwab made mistakes by not questioning jurors, not consulting with the attorneys and not considering other alternatives.
The appeals court judges likened Schwab to "a referee in a heavyweight fight ... (who) has generally made the correct calls, with some exceptions." They ruled that Schwab should be replaced, not because of the errors or any perception of bias, but to try to ease the "combative tenor" of the case.
"Our view is that both sides and the interest of justice would benefit from a reduced level of rancor in the courtroom, fresh eyes on the case and fewer forays to this court by the parties," the judges wrote.
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published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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