|
Oral Arguments Scheduled In Schwieterman Appeal |
|
|
|
Friday, 06 November 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
CELINA — Oral arguments in the appeal of a Chickasaw man seeking
post-conviction relief for his role in the 2008 deaths of four area
teens have been set in the Third District Court of Appeals in Lima.
Attorneys for Nicholas R. Schwieterman, 23, and Mercer County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Fox are scheduled to appear in front of judges in Lima at 9 a.m. Nov. 17 for oral arguments. Eric Allen and John Poppe, Schwieterman's attorneys, requested the hearing in August after Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Ingraham rejected their claim for post-conviction relief.
In their filling, the attorneys claimed Schwieterman's 24-year prison term for the four deaths constituted cruel and unusual punishment. Among other claims in the filing, Allen and Poppe argued Schwieterman is actually innocent of the crime for which he was convicted of and sentenced to prison on and alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
The attorneys also claim to have evidence that shows Schwieterman's vehicle was traveling 12 mph at the time of the collision, while a vehicle carrying Jordan Moeller, 18, Bradley Roeckner, 19, of Celina, Jordan Goettemoeller, 19, and Jordan Diller, 19, of Maria Stein, was traveling 84 mph.
In his response, Fox rejected each of the attorneys' claims. Fox called any evidence the attorneys have irrelevant and denied claims of prosecutorial misconduct. Fox also said none of Schwieterman's claims can be backed by sufficient evidence and that the trial court was correct in denying the request.
The appeal is the second time aspects of the case will land in the Third District Court of Appeals. Attorneys on both sides in April argued in front of judges regarding the sentence itself. Judges upheld the sentence from the trial court.
Poppe and Allen also previously requested a hearing in the Ohio Supreme Court on the sentencing matter. Justice denied the request last month.
The case stemmed from a March 15, 2008, collision at the intersection of County Road 716A and Brockman Road in Mercer County. Schwieterman, who admitted to drinking and snorting cocaine earlier in the night, had a blood alcohol content of 0.134 and was under the influence of cocaine and marijuana at the time of the collision.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 December 2009 )
|
