By Joseph A. Slobodzian, The Philadelphia Inquirer –
PHILADELPHIA — Citing the “serious nature of his conduct,” a Philadelphia judge on Monday denied a request by lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn to free the 61-year-old former archdiocesan official on bail while he appeals his child-endangerment conviction.
Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina rejected the motion by defense lawyers Jeffrey M. Lindy and Alan J. Tauber after an often acrimonious 15-minute hearing.
On July 24, Sarmina sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child endangerment in the landmark Catholic clergy sex-abuse trial.
Lynn was not at the hearing. He had waived his right to be present and is at the state prison at Camp Hill near Harrisburg, Pa.
Lynn, the first church official charged and convicted of a supervisory role in the church sex-abuse scandal, was secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, during which time he was responsible for investigating allegations against priests. Though Lynn was never accused of sexual abuse, prosecutors alleged that he enabled priests to prey on children by moving them among Philadelphia-area parishes.
Lindy told Sarmina he believed Lynn should be granted bail pending appeal because there is “better than a 50-50 chance” the state Superior Court would agree with the defense claim that prosecutors improperly used the child-endangerment law to charge a church official who acted only as a supervisor.
“This is the first case in the history of the commonwealth in which the (child-endangerment) law has been applied against a supervisor at Monsignor Lynn’s level,” Lindy argued.
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Blessington said that under state criminal court rules a criminal defendant convicted and sentenced to more than two years in prison has no right to bail.
“This is absolute ignorance of the law,” Blessington said. “It’s literally a waste of the court’s time.”
In another development, Lindy said that he and Tauber will not represent Lynn in his appeal.
Lindy said church officials had told him they decided to cap the legal costs in Lynn’s case by paying an undisclosed flat fee to the Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney law firm.
Lindy, who has represented Lynn for eight years, said the flat fee was “very limited” and would essentially have meant representing Lynn free.
Buchanan lawyer Thomas A. Bergstrom, who, with Lindy and Tauber, defended Lynn at trial, confirmed that he and Buchanan associate Allison Khashkelis will continue representing Lynn on appeal.
Earlier this year church officials said they had spent $11.6 million in legal costs since the district attorney’s office began its probe a decade ago.