The attorneys for former Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz do not want the former university lawyer who testified against their clients anywhere near the witness stand at next month’s preliminary hearing on charges they covered up abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky.
The defense has moved to preclude Cynthia Baldwin from testifying and filed the court papers Tuesday in Harrisburg. They expect prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office to have her testify at the preliminary hearing Dec. 13.
The defense attorneys said Baldwin’s testimony was the basis for the second indictment of Curley and Schultz, who are facing perjury and failure to report abuse charges and set for trial in January.
Baldwin, a former university trustee and state Supreme Court justice, heard Curley and Schultz’s grand jury testimony in January 2011, and the two men have said they were under the impression Baldwin was representing them.
Baldwin later said she was representing the university’s interests.
The attorneys for Curley and Schultz have said their clients were betrayed by Baldwin when she testified to the grand jury and accused her of violating attorney-client privilege. She testified that it was evident to her that Curley and Schultz “extensively discussed” their own grand jury testimonies with then-president Graham Spanier, who was also indicted in the alleged cover-up.
The attorneys said in the court papers that their clients never waived the attorney-client privilege, so Baldwin should not have disclosed the information she was told in confidence by Curley and Schultz.
The defense attorneys asked for a quick decision. They also asked for a stay in the preliminary hearing in case they need to appeal the decision to a higher court.
The attorneys for Curley, Schultz and Spanier have maintained that their clients are innocent.
Comments