Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Friday her office would not appeal the dismissal of felony charges against former Penn State president Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley
In January, a panel of Superior Court judges quashed felony charges of perjury, obstruction and conspiracy charges against Spanier and Schultz. Curley had the obstruction and conspiracy charges quashed. The state Superior Court upheld the dismissal of charges in March. All three still face misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and failure to report suspected child abuse, and the perjury charge against Curley still stands.
Kane decided not to pursue an appeal based on an opinion by Solicitor General Bruce Castor, who wrote that ‘the likelihood of successfully appealing this decision to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is remote as a matter of law and procedure.’
The dismissal of charges came after attorneys for the former Penn State officials successfully argued that former university counsel Cynthia Baldwin’s grand jury testimony violated their attorney-client privilege, and that she did not explain to them that she was representing the university and not them individually when each testified before a grand jury investigating Jerry Sandusky in 2011.
Castor said it was unlikely prosecutors would be able to disprove their claim.
‘Attorney General Kane recognizes the efforts of members of her office to get the cases to this point, but now directs her staff shall proceed in accordance with the opinions of the Superior Court, and prepare the cases for trial,’ a statement from the Attorney General’s office said.
When Sandusky was indicted on charges of child sexual abuse, Curley and Schultz were charged with perjury related to their testimony before the grand jury, as well as child endangerment and failure to report for what prosecutors claimed was their handling of earlier reports about Sandusky and possible abuse. Spanier was charged the following year on similar grounds and at the same time Curley and Schultz had the obstruction and conspiracy charges added.
Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts related to child sexual abuse. He will appear in Centre County Court on Monday as he attempts to get a new trial under the Post Conviction Relief Act.
