A senior judge denied state prosecutors’ request to reject various subpoenas served by the Jerry Sandusky defense team, as well as ordered the prosecution to turn over the discovery materials requested by the defense.
The commonwealth was served subpoenas asking various state agencies, such as the Pennsylvania State Police, Penn State University Police and various school districts, to produce documents to aid the Sandusky defense team, according to court documents. The state Attorney General’s office moved April 27 to have these subpoenas thrown out based on a misappropriation of authority, according to court documents.
Earlier in the day, Sandusky’s attorney Joe Amendola requested the court deny the commonwealth’s motion, stating that Sandusky’s defense team was simply trying to obtain critical information for case and not go on a “fishing expedition,” according to court documents.
Amendola wrote in the motion that the subpoenas were prepared consistent with the law and that the commonwealth has no basis to complain about the breadth of the subpoenas because it had served numerous subpoenas just as broad during its initial investigation of Sandusky, according to court documents.
Senior Judge John Cleland also ordered that discovery materials requested by Sandusky’s defense team be handed over before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Cleland also ordered that if the commonwealth still disputes the merit of the of the discovery materials, they must file a written response by Monday.
Prosecutors maintain that Sandusky’s defense team has no legal standing to access the information subpoenaed. Amendola explained in his motion Thursday the information requested is simply to help him create a proper defense.
Amendola has requested police records of some of the men Sandusky is accused with sexually abusing, including that of the person referred to as “Victim 1” in the grand jury presentment, so that the Sandusky defense team can investigate if the boy made false claims to police when he was initially questioned, according to court documents.
Amendola is also asking for psychological evaluations of those referred to as “victims” in the grand jury presentment to determine if they were treated before or after their initial contact with Sandusky, according to court documents.
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 9 to discuss the recent debate over subpoenas issued to Keystone Central School District, Mifflin County School District, Juniata College and The Second Mile.
The hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 1 of the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte.
