A senior judge in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case requested the Pennsylvania Superior Court dismiss Sandusky’s co-counsel Karl Rominger’s appeal of a gag order issued after the trial.
The original order, issued by Senior Judge John Cleland, requires the attorneys to release the names of who they gave trial and grand jury materials to.
Cleland wrote in the filing that the original order was made after a joint hearing was held between Cleland and Supervising Judge of the Investigative Grand Jury Barry Feudale to decide how to “assure the integrity of the Grand Jury’s ongoing investigation” and to protect the identities of those who testified before the grand jury or Sandusky’s criminal trial.
Cleland filed the order on June 26, which forced the defense to disclose any materials they compiled to make their case to the court and the judge presiding over the grand jury.
In Cleland’s filing today, he wrote that Sandusky’s defense attorneys Joe Amendola and Rominger had 10 days to hand the information over. Amendola responded to the order in the 10 days whereas Rominger did not, Cleland wrote.
Cleland wrote in the filing that his order is not a “final order” so the appeal is premature and should be dismissed. Cleland wrote that the order could not become final until Rominger files a motion raising his concerns that would give Cleland the opportunity to address them, or until Rominger had refused to comply with the order and had been held in contempt of court.
Sandusky was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sex abuse. His hearing is scheduled for Oct. 9.
