NBC10 Philadelphia: Jerry Sandusky’s challenge to his child molestation conviction is going before a state appeals court Tuesday.
The former Penn State assistant football coach is seeking to overturn a sentence that could keep him behind bars for life. He’s also asking for a new trial.
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court will decide whether prosecutors made an improper reference to the fact that Sandusky did not testify, whether jury instructions were mishandled and whether the defense should have been given more time before trial to digest a large volume of investigative material.
Oral arguments will be held in Wilkes-Barre. Sandusky is not expected to be in the courtroom.
Sandusy is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence for sexual abuse of 10 boys.
The Superior Court will hear debate from Sandusky’s attorney and the attorney general’s office on the following issues:
PROMPT COMPLAINT: Did the judge make a mistake when he did not give jurors a defense-requested instruction about the failure of some of the victims to report their abuse in promptly?
SANDUSKY TESTIMONY: Did the prosecutor cross a line when he referred to a Sandusky TV interview, raising questions in jurors’ minds about why he did not take the stand in his own defense?
SPEEDY TRIAL: Did Sandusky’s lawyers have ample time to prepare for trial, given that prosecutors turned over about 9,000 pages of documents?
CHARACTER EVIDENCE: Did the judge err when he told jurors that character evidence should be weighed along with the other evidence in the case?