On Friday, September 27, 2024, PennLive reported that Columbia County Senior Judge Thomas A. James Jr. had been accused of bias and lack of impartiality in his handling of the suspended state trooper Michael J. Brown’s vehicular homicide case.
Judge James had been specially assigned to preside over Brown’s trial in Tioga County, where Brown was found guilty by a jury in May of vehicular homicide as well as other vehicle code violations for a February 2023 crash that killed 47-year-old Christine E. Woodward of Troy. After the trial, Brown’s attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. filed motions arguing that juror misconduct may have occurred as the jury foreperson acknowledged on his questionnaire he had been arrested but not that there was an outstanding warrant in Oregon on DUI and reckless driving charges. However, Judge James rejected requests for a hearing on the issue and denied motions to vacate the verdict, finding that the alleged conduct did not affect the outcome of the case.
In response, Olszewski filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asking the high court to take over the case using its rare King’s Bench power. In the petition, Olszewski strongly criticized Judge James, arguing that he did not fulfill his role as an impartial arbiter and accusing him of making rulings that disregarded precedent. Specifically, Olszewski claimed that Judge James created an “unconscionable burden” for defendants by stating in his ruling that reasonable diligence should have discovered the inaccurate responses on the jury questionnaire before the verdict.
Olszewski also took issue with Judge James prohibiting the defense from calling a state police corporal as an expert witness at trial. The corporal had testified at the preliminary hearing that in his accident reconstruction analysis, Brown did not act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner. But Judge James ruled the corporal could not provide an expert opinion or lay opinion at trial because he did not witness the accident.
The defense petition argued that Judge James’ continued involvement in the case could jeopardize Brown’s upcoming sentencing and his right to fair bail pending appeal. It further noted Brown could face immediate incarceration following sentencing, as the prosecution is seeking 6 to 23 months in prison.
Source: PennLive
