Well not a surprise to me. I never did see where the prosecution could get to manslaughter…hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors…sure.
They weren’t cleared, the charges were dropped, not that it makes anybody feel better. It’s awful. Four of them are now free of any charges. The trial will continue to prove that you can’t prove with certainty who did what — they collectively killed this kid, but the law doesn’t really have a process for collective guilt. So hiding in the shadow of their bro-hood, they’ll continue to feel less and less guilty and more and more persecuted.
We’ve become a country with entirely too many people who use the law, or legality of a situation, as their moral compass. The law was never meant to be used that way, and it doesn’t provide sufficient justice for victims of immoral but legal action. It’s disgusting that frats are still defending their (imho) antiquated existence, but then again, they aren’t lacking for pledges either.
I found Judge Sinclair’s decision as disappointing as I found the sentence in the Turner case. Perhaps more so given that he never even bothered to explain his reasoning but simply orally dismissed the charges. What a cop out.
Stacey Parks Miller promises to refile the charges before a different judge. Not sure how that all works but if that is an option, I hope she does so. Cannot even imagine how the Piazza’s feel tonight.
My heart goes out to the Piazza.
Thank heaven we don’t have much of any law around collective guilt that is simply the antithesis of our concept of individualism.
The prosecutor in my opinion took a shock and awe approach by adding assault and manslaughter probably hoping that media attention would bolster her case but the judge had to be precise in the application of the law to the individuals and there was no credible legal path to manslaughter or assault.
My heart aches for the parents and they will live for the rest of their lives with the “what ifs.” I have always believed that alcohol was the greatest risk for young college kids.
Agree it’s a risk, but most college kids who drink it don’t seem to ignore/punch dying people or rape their hall mate or whatever.
…probably determines which drinkers harm others and which do not more than anything else. We are, after all, talking about individuals, though some place themselves into higher risk peer groups that may affect that behavior.
On what basis do you believe this to be true? In Pennsylvania to prove involuntary manslaughter you would have to prove that the defendants caused Piazza’s death by reckless or grossly negligent conduct while engaging in a lawful or unlawful activity. That’s it – seems to me this is a text book case of involuntary manslaughter.
They invited him onto their premises, supplied an underage individual with alcohol and then watched him fall down the basement steps twice and then die in front of their eyes over the course of 12 hours. They never called for help until he as beyond saving.
Why do you think there is no legal path to proving those elements of the crime??
You have to prove that one individual’s individual action was the main cause of a specific action that was directly responsible for Timothy’s death. Since the pledges went to several stations, the DA would have to prove that a single station, and how it was handled, was directly responsible in itself for the rest. And that is difficult to prove in a legal sense. You can’t charge them with failure to call for help, because that’s not criminal. Civil suits? A whole 'nother set of issues and I’m sure we’ll see that, eventually.
Parks Miller is under the shadow of a circus of claims and counter claims of general judicial misconduct at the county level. She lost the primary and will not be DA for long enough to follow any re-filing.
Because generally the law requires a very high degree of negligence. The guanlet is reported to have lasted minutes per per person yet the prosecutor chose for example, a kid who handed one beer shooter to the victim. She always had an uphill battle on the manslaught
The degree of negligence required is “gross negligence.” Under Pennsylvania law that means the behavior of the defendants must be flagrant and substantially deviate from the ordinary standard of care. According to the Grand Jury who reviewed the tapes there was enough there to charge the defendants with involuntary manslaughter.
@greenbutton I don’t think Park Miller’s case was based on the individual roles of each defendant. My understanding is she argued the case on the theory of accomplice liability. Her interview outside the courthouse indicates she believes Judge Sinclair ruled on the basis of their individual roles, but her opinion is that was a “huge legal error.” But of course we don’t know the basis of the judge’s ruling since he never bothered to explain his rationale.
I believe she needs permission from another judge to re-file, have no idea if she will get it.
The grand jury process in this country is all about the prosecutor position and that is all a grand jury hears. Their influence is minimal and simply is a nod to the prosecutor to proceed. The idea of accomplice crime is pretty thin here…generally you have to have a principle criminal … she was stretching if that was her thinking. Not too smart either to tell the media her judge made a huge legal error but oh well it is her life to live.
LOL attorneys tell judges they have made errors all the time. It’s called an appeal.
She has nothing to lose with this judge. He has already ruled against her. She is asking to re-file with another judge.
And if the judge orally dropping the manslaughter charge without any explanation, wouldn’t that be one good basis for an appeal?
Not appeal I don’t think as this was a preliminary… she can refill the charges but she should think twice as the burden of proof is generally higher for a jury than during a preliminary but it sounds like it would have to be the new prosecutor from an earlier poster since she is out of that position soon.
Here is Stacy Parks Miller in her own words:
So yes, the terminology used by the district attorney is “appeal.”
And this is not the first time she has re-filed charges after Sinclair dismissed them. He dismissed ethnic intimidation charges against another Penn State student who assaulted someone on campus. Parks Miller appealed to another judge who said there was an “error of law” and handed the case to a new judge to hear again.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/crime/article66054882.html
Sinclair is a magisterial district judge. In Pennsylvania these judges do not have to be attorneys. Sinclair is not an attorney and did not attend law school. I don’t blame her for wanting another judge to review his ruling, especially since no legal rationale was provided.
And let’s not lose sight of the fact that the remaining charges are still serious – some carry the possibility of jail time. And I am pretty sure that none of these boys will be returning this fall to Penn State.
Indeed. Here’s his profile. No JD here or attorney/legal related position listed beyond being a probation supervisor.
http://judges.pa.law.com/profile/Centre_County_District_Court/Allen_Sinclair/Allen_Sinclair-124.xml
Wow. So, someone who has no law degree has decided to do that to the Piazza family rather than pass it on to someone to rule on. Is it thinkable someone gave him money for that verdict?
If you are from PA or lived in PA for any period of time, you understand that a Magisterial District Judge is completely influenced by local politics and money. The influence to clear the name of PSU in that area of the state would hard to ignore on many levels.
It seems the trial should be moved to another state then… NYS? MD? OH?
No guarantee that a judge “somewhere else” is also going to see the stretch on the manslaughter charge. There are still plenty of serious charges to be pled or go to trial. And nobody “did” anything to the Piazza family. They have been rocks through this entire process hoping that the publicity will bring change at universities. I couldn’t agree more. They clearly know that any parent could be sitting on the other side of the courthouse.