The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
ON THE HOT SEAT
SCOTUS nominee Kavanaugh stresses independence during Capitol Hill grilling
WASHINGTON » Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh repeatedly stressed the importance of judicial independence on the second day of his confirmation hearing Wednesday as he faced questioning from senators, including Democrats who fear he would be President Donald Trump’s man on the high court. But he declined to address whether Trump could be subpoenaed or could pardon himself.
Pressed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, on whether he would be independent from the president who nominated him, Kavanaugh responded, “No one is above the law.”
by the court is necessary to determining whether or not the sentence imposed was proper,” Allman responded in court papers to Steele’s request.
“The propriety of the sentence must be reviewed based on the evidence of record, namely the actual testimony presented over three days of a hearing, not the amount paid to such experts,” Allman maintained.
Allman argued prosecutors, “dissatisfied with simply waiting” for Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy to rule on the issue, on Aug. 29 filed several Right-ToKnow requests with various county agencies to improperly obtain some of the documents.
“The commonwealth’s actions, in blatantly and quite boldly, disregarding the basic procedural requirements of the Right-To-Know Law is of grave concern and sends a chill down counsel’s spine. Any attempts to explain their actions as an oversight or an innocent blunder would lack all credibility,” Allman and Keisha Hudson, deputy chief public defender, wrote in court papers.
While Demchick-Alloy considers the legal battle over the disclosure of information regarding defense experts and funding she is also weighing Clary’s request for a reconsideration of his sentence.
On May 9, Demchick-Alloy sentenced Clary, now 35, formerly of the 500 block of Norris Street, to a total sentence of 48 years to life in prison on a charge of firstdegree murder for the Nov. 25, 1999, gunshot slaying of William Six, 39, in Palm Alley, and on a charge of attempted murder for the Nov. 24, 1999, shooting and wounding of Juan Watson, 36, outside of Watson’s West Basin Street home.
The sentence means Clary won’t be eligible for parole for the first time until the year 2047, when he is 65 years old.
Demchick-Alloy imposed the new sentence after a three-day hearing in county court, which was marked by highly emotional testimony from Six’s survivors, who tearfully expressed the grief they suffered, and Clary’s relatives, who candidly discussed Clary’s failings and dysfunctional upbringing but who hoped for his release one day.
Clary, who was convicted by a jury at an August 2000 trial and initially was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in November 2000, was granted a resentencing hearing in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juveniles. In 2016, the high court said the ruling should be applied retroactively.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a separate ruling, said prosecutors bear “the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the juvenile offender is incapable of rehabilitation.”
During the hearing in May, Steele and Marvel asked the judge to re-instate the life prison term against Clary or in the alternative impose a sentence of 50 years to life. Prosecutors argued Clary demonstrated that he poses “a substantial risk to the community” and has not made significant strides toward rehabilitation.
But Allman and Hudson sought a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for Clary, arguing he is not incapable of rehabilitation and is not permanently incorrigible.
During the hearing, Allman presented four experts who testified about brain development and the differences between juveniles and adults as well as about Clary’s background and the question of “permanent incorrigibility.”
In the latest request for a reconsideration of Clary’s sentence, Allman argued the minimum 48year prison term imposed against Clary is “manifestly excessive and unreasonable” and failed to consider the steps Clary had taken toward rehabilitation.
“Mr. Clary was determined to not be permanently incorrigible yet given no meaningful opportunity for parole,” Allman wrote in court papers, renewing the request for a sentence of 25 years to life.