Why shouldn’t judges hold court in hotels rather than uncomfortable courthouses?
It is time to accelerate the work to expose the false prosecution of Jerry Sandusky. If anyone takes the trouble to study the Sandusky case, they will quickly learn a lot about the law and how our system can get it 100 percent wrong. It is largely the fault of Judge John Cleland.
Judge John Cleland
While others are partly to blame—like lying prosecutors and an incompetent defense attorney—the judge had a duty to protect Sandusky’s due process rights. He did not.
Maybe, because he is not the brightest bulb, he could not detect the scent of perjury worn almost as a cologne by the men who testified about what happened to them when they were boys.
Maybe he knew, but did not care. Maybe he was afraid, since the media had already decided Sandusky was guilty, and he wasn’t going to allow the law to be used to oppose the media’s good judgment.
Judge Saw His Duty to Be a Black-Robed Prosecutor
He probably thought Sandusky was guilty and wanted to ensure he was convicted. But an honest judge, has no right to take that position.
Judge Cleland’s greatest offense was not to grant the defense an adjournment, but rather to rush the case from indictment to trial in seven months, condoning the tardy release of 12,000 pages of discovery just ten days before the trial.
Joe Amendola with his client, Jerry Sandusky
Judge Cleland knew the defense could not study the evidence in that short 10-day period. Defense attorney Joe Amendola begged for an adjournment. He said there could be no fair trial without time to prepare. Cleland said no.
Amendola asked to be relieved of representing Sandusky, for the prosecutors held back the evidence until the last minute, despite his protests. Judge Cleland would neither grant an adjournment nor permit Amendola to quit as Sandusky’s lawyer, which would have forced an adjournment to give Sandusky time to find a new lawyer and prepare.
Cleland refused to let Amendola quit, in effect threatening his law license if he did not go in and lose the case.
Normally, in cases of this complexity, a judge gives the defense at least six months to study discovery. Cases of far lesser magnitude, including Judge Cleland’s, sometimes take years to get to trial.
Jerry Sandusky
Ten Days and 12,000 Pages
But Cleland insisted – ten days – and 12,000 pages of discovery dumped in boxes, improperly labeled or not labeled at all, and sent to the defense – held by the prosecutors until 10 days before Sandusky was going to trial.
By the time Cleland denied Amendola’s request to quit the case, I am sure Cleland had already thought he made it clear to Amendola that Sandusky was going to be convicted. Perhaps he did not understand why Amendola was making such a fuss.
Do Your Justice at Hilton Garden Inn
The one move that symbolizes Judge Cleland’s bias is the secret meeting with prosecutors and defense attorney Amendola at the Hilton Garden Inn.
The State College Hilton Garden Inn
They did not meet in court to make the most important pretrial decision. They met at a hotel.
Cleland arranged this meeting to insist on the most outrageous effort to bury Sandusky — the waiving of his preliminary hearing — where he would have learned the identity of his accusers and what lies they were telling about him.
It was set for December 13, 2011. Judge Cleland held his secret hotel meeting on the evening of the 12th.
PA Governor Tom Corbett called the shots,
I do not know if the governor called Judge Cleland and ordered him to cancel it. Or if the prosecutors called their buddy Cleland and said “Judgy, we have to cancel this because our case is a tissue of lies and we do not want to get caught.”
The judge pretended that it was a deal between the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
He said the deal was that in return for the defense waiving the preliminary hearing — the most important pretrial hearing anyone in Sandusky’s position can do — the prosecution would not ask for a bail increase if there were new charges.
Cleland Shady Deal
Let me be diplomatic. John Cleland is a liar.
He knew Sandusky was entitled to confront his accusers in advance of the trial. He also knows that waiving the preliminary hearing was not a brokered deal between the prosecutor and the defense.
This was a deal between Cleland and the defense.
Why?
Because Cleland alone could raise the bail, not the prosecution.
The prosecution had already brought eight perjurers forward to accuse Sandusky. It did not matter if they brought a few more. Sandusky had already proven he was not going to jump bail.
When Cleland allowed this hotel secret deal to happen, he was in effect threatening Amendola: If the prosecutors bring more charges, I will raise the bail to an amount where your client cannot afford it.
Boardroom at the Hilton Garden Inn
He could have told the prosecutors, “look you have brought the worst charges already. Adding a few more victims will not make Sandusky a greater flight risk, and since he is on home confinement, he does not pose a danger to the community. Let’s make sure Sandusky gets his due process rights of a preliminary hearing, so he can understand who accuses him and what they accuse him of doing.”
But no. The judge’s message to Amendola was clear, “Buddy Boy, if you expect to practice in this state after I convict Sandusky, you better not stand in the way of his conviction. And you better not tell your client what we are doing.”
So, on the night before the preliminary hearing at the Hilton Garden Inn, Amendola agreed to waive it on the false pretext that he had brokered a deal with the prosecutors to keep Sandusky out of pretrial custody.
If that were true, he traded seven months of Sandusky’s pretrial freedom for 30 to 60 years of his post-trial freedom.
Sure, I get it. Cleland could not do this in open court, with the media watching. Sneaky deals must be made outside of court, with the judge presiding. Usually they don’t get caught. Cleland did get caught, but not for four years after the trial. When he was caught, he acted all offended with a comment, “Now [Sandusky’s attorneys] have chosen to impugn the integrity of the court itself,” he said.
Let me be diplomatic: The court of John Cleland in the case of Jerry Sandusky does not have any integrity – as I shall demonstrate in upcoming reports.
Judge John Cleland
Is He Just Stupid?
Many people cut Cleland a lot slack by saying he is not corrupt, but just stupid. People have said rude things about his intelligence. And yes, of course, I too have heard the remarks, fashioned in the homely language of Central Pennsylvania.
“Old Johnnie is not the quickest squirrel in the race.”
Or “he’s a few peas short of a casserole.”
I do not buy it. Cleland knew what he was doing. I think he was sent in to do the job: Convict Sandusky ASAP.
He is only stupid in thinking he could fool intelligent people that he was too stupid to know the law.
But to say he did not protect Sandusky’s rights because he does not know enough of the law is nonsense. The criticism of Cleland that he “couldn’t pour water out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel,” is unfair.
He knew the instructions, which was to use that boot to kick Sandusky into prison.
A Biased and Corrupt Judge
A biased and corrupt judge by definition is one who seeks to support the prosecution while disregarding due process; who exercises judicial authority in a prejudiced manner, favoring the interests of the prosecution without genuine regard for the principles of fairness and justice. He manipulates legal proceedings, including the presentation of evidence and the direction of courtroom discourse, to lean unjustly towards conviction, while maintaining a veneer of impartiality to uphold the semblance of a fair trial.
A judge such as this undermines the foundational tenets of the legal system, erodes public trust in judicial integrity, and by his reprehensible character impugns not only his own integrity, but also the people he contacts. Judge Cleland violated Jerry Sandusky’s constitutional rights to an unbiased adjudicator and a fair trial.
They used to have a picture of Judge Roy Bean in books where this kind of conduct was discussed.
I understand Judge Cleland’s photo may be used in upcoming editions.
Meanwhile, if you need a good night’s sleep, consider the Hilton Garden Inn. Who knows, you might even meet old John Cleland holding court in the hot tub. As of tonight, you can rent a room with two queen beds for $187 per night, the King Bed Junior Suite is $235 a night, or perhaps you could ask the manager about the courthouse special. Just tell them Judge Cleland sent you.
Pool and hot tub at the Hilton Garden Inn
