Prosecutors must weigh the obstacles before retrying a man for a murder that occurred 22 years ago, after the first trial ended in a deadlock. Criminal Law expert and Fordham Law Professor Cheryl Bader comments on the issues in this article for the Mid-Hudson News.
Trocino and Cheryl Bader, a Law Professor at Fordham University, said another variable to consider in moving forward with another trial is what it will cost. Cornachio and the other special prosecutor in the case, Laura Murphy, tried Holley with an allocation of $1 million from the Orange County Legislature. The special prosecutors were needed after Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler recused himself from the case due to a conflict of interest. While in private law practice, before becoming DA, Hoovler represented a client in negotiations with the DA’s office regarding potential information that the client might provide regarding McDonald’s death.
“The prosecution has full discretion if they feel the resources are best served by retrying the defendant,” said Bader, a former prosecutor with the U.S Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. “However, if the vast majority of the jury was in favor of acquitting, the prosecution may want to think twice about bringing the case to trial again because it is going to be difficult to get a unanimous verdict from a second jury.”
Read “Legal Experts: Convicting Holley in retrial will likely be difficult” in Mid Hudson News.