Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:18:55 GMT -5
Fannick co-counsel may defend Hugo----Conflict attorneys John Pike, Steve
Menn are candidates to defend Hugo Selenski.
It seems logical, and probable, for attorneys John Pike and Steve Menn to
be appointed to defend Hugo Selenski on his latest homicide charges.
The 2 already know Selenski from their work in his 1st trial, and they've
already done some research in the case.
But, in all likelihood, the familiarity of the intricacies in the case and
the rapport between the attorneys and Selenski wont be as strong without
the same lead defense attorney, another area lawyer said.
Without attorney Demetrius Fannick at the helm of Selenski's defense team
in his second case, the attorneys will have to establish their own
relationship with Selenski and review loads of documents that Fannick
already has memorized, attorney Ferris Webby said.
"All this stuff that Fannick has right now, that he wouldn't have to go
over, the new attorneys have to go over," said Webby, a defense attorney.
"Theyll get through, but it will be time-consuming. They have to start
from square one."
Fannick on Wednesday said it appeared he would not be retained to defend
the 32-year-old Selenski on homicide charges in the deaths of pharmacist
Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett.
The news came less than a month after Fannick helped Selenski in March
beat 2 homicide charges in the deaths of suspected drug dealers Frank
James and Adeiye Keiler.
The charges in the first and 2nd cases stem from separate incidents, but
they all stem from the same investigation when police converged on
Selenski's Kingston Township home in June 2003 and found the remains of at
least 5 people or as many as 12 people.
Fannick defended Selenski for free in the first case.
He said taking on another complex case for free would cut too far into his
private practice. He has been unable to come to terms with Selenskis
family on payments for defending Selenski in the 2nd case.
Fannick has not said how much he asked to be paid, other than dispelling
rumors of him asking for $250,000.
But another defense lawyer, Nanda Palissery, said it "wouldn't be out of
the question" for an attorney to request a $100,000 retainer fee for such
a case. The cost could also rise as the case progresses, he said.
Now, it's likely Selenski will be appointed attorneys from a group of
public attorneys known as conflict counsel. They are attorneys on the
Luzerne County payroll and not associated with the public defenders
office. They are provided to indigent defendants who have a conflict of
interest with the public defenders.
Attorneys Pike and Menn, who aided Fannick in defending Selenski in the
first case, are in that group of attorneys.
And it is likely those two will be appointed to lead Selenski's defense in
the 2nd case. A decision could come by today.
But even though they were involved in Selenski's 1st case, they still
didn't have as much contact with Selenski or review as many documents as
Fannick, Webby said. Pike and Menn worked more on the death-penalty aspect
of the case, Webby said.
So if they are appointed, they will have to spend a lot of time reviewing
all the investigative reports and background of the case to prepare for
the guilt phase of the trial, he said.
There could also be altered levels of comfort and trust, Webby said.
Selenski, Webby said, is already comfortable with Fannick.
Normally, when a defendant has an attorney in a case that goes well, as
Selenski's 1st case did, a defendant has faith in that attorney, Webby
said.
And there's also going to be some scrutiny from Selenski to his new
attorney, Webby said.
"The attorney is gonna hear, 'Well, Fannick wouldn't have done it this
way,'" he said. "That's only human nature."
Fannick, in the last trial, was not easily swayed by Selenskis orders,
Palissery said.
"I watched the interaction," he said. "Demetrius never did anything - just
because Mr. Selenski wanted him to."
Having Fannick on the sidelines in the second trial should not have any
impact on the prosecution strategy, Webby and Palissery said.
District Attorney David Lupas did not offer any comments on Selenskis
attorney issue.
Pike realizes he and Menn are an appropriate fit to defend Selenski in the
second case.
"It's just logical that one or both of us would be appointed," said Pike,
a 10-year member of the conflict attorney group.
Selenski's preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 13. Prosecutors have
not revealed whether they will seek the death penalty, but they sought
that punishment in Selenski's 1st case.
How the system works
Conflict attorneys are not automatically appointed to cases, Pike said.
If a defendant is indigent and needs to be represented by a public
defender, the defendant first has to apply for representation through that
office, Pike said.
The public defender will determine if any conflict of interest exists in
representing the defendant.
A conflict, Pike said, could arise when 2 or more people are arrested in
the same case. If one of those defendants is represented by a public
defender, the others cannot be. Or, he said, if witnesses in the case are
represented by public defenders, the defendant also cannot be represented
by public defenders.
If the public defenders determine a conflict exists, they petition a judge
to have a conflict attorney appointed. Each conflict attorney is paid
around $25,000 per year.
Pike said the conflict attorneys are appointed on a rotating list.
But not any attorney can be appointed to a death-penalty case, Pike said.
The attorney must have 18 credits from legal classes and seminars and have
completed at least 8 significant felony trials.
"Then you could be lead counsel," Pike said.
Without those qualifications, an attorney could assist on the defense
team, Pike said.
Currently, Pike and Menn meet those standards. Other conflict attorneys
are in the process of being qualified, he said.
Palissery said there are several solid attorneys in the county that could
handle a complex case such as Selenskis case, but Fannick was masterful in
the 1st trial.
"Whoever his new counsel is going to be, it's gonna be difficult to be as
devoted and committed to this case as Demetrius was," said Palissery, who
has done work with Fannick in the past and believes Fannick is an
"excellent lawyer" deserving of all the recognition he is now receiving.
"He was phenomenal. It's too bad that Mr. Selenski and attorney Fannick
could not come to terms because Hugo would be well-represented."
Here is a list of the attorneys who make up Luzerne Countys conflict
counsel group:
- John Pike
- Steve Menn
- Paul Galante
- Sam Falcone
- Joe Cosgrove
- Mike Senape
- Bob Davison
- Joe Nocito
- Gerald Wassil
- Mark Bufalino
- Matt Kelly
- Brian Corcoran
(source: Times Leader)
Menn are candidates to defend Hugo Selenski.
It seems logical, and probable, for attorneys John Pike and Steve Menn to
be appointed to defend Hugo Selenski on his latest homicide charges.
The 2 already know Selenski from their work in his 1st trial, and they've
already done some research in the case.
But, in all likelihood, the familiarity of the intricacies in the case and
the rapport between the attorneys and Selenski wont be as strong without
the same lead defense attorney, another area lawyer said.
Without attorney Demetrius Fannick at the helm of Selenski's defense team
in his second case, the attorneys will have to establish their own
relationship with Selenski and review loads of documents that Fannick
already has memorized, attorney Ferris Webby said.
"All this stuff that Fannick has right now, that he wouldn't have to go
over, the new attorneys have to go over," said Webby, a defense attorney.
"Theyll get through, but it will be time-consuming. They have to start
from square one."
Fannick on Wednesday said it appeared he would not be retained to defend
the 32-year-old Selenski on homicide charges in the deaths of pharmacist
Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett.
The news came less than a month after Fannick helped Selenski in March
beat 2 homicide charges in the deaths of suspected drug dealers Frank
James and Adeiye Keiler.
The charges in the first and 2nd cases stem from separate incidents, but
they all stem from the same investigation when police converged on
Selenski's Kingston Township home in June 2003 and found the remains of at
least 5 people or as many as 12 people.
Fannick defended Selenski for free in the first case.
He said taking on another complex case for free would cut too far into his
private practice. He has been unable to come to terms with Selenskis
family on payments for defending Selenski in the 2nd case.
Fannick has not said how much he asked to be paid, other than dispelling
rumors of him asking for $250,000.
But another defense lawyer, Nanda Palissery, said it "wouldn't be out of
the question" for an attorney to request a $100,000 retainer fee for such
a case. The cost could also rise as the case progresses, he said.
Now, it's likely Selenski will be appointed attorneys from a group of
public attorneys known as conflict counsel. They are attorneys on the
Luzerne County payroll and not associated with the public defenders
office. They are provided to indigent defendants who have a conflict of
interest with the public defenders.
Attorneys Pike and Menn, who aided Fannick in defending Selenski in the
first case, are in that group of attorneys.
And it is likely those two will be appointed to lead Selenski's defense in
the 2nd case. A decision could come by today.
But even though they were involved in Selenski's 1st case, they still
didn't have as much contact with Selenski or review as many documents as
Fannick, Webby said. Pike and Menn worked more on the death-penalty aspect
of the case, Webby said.
So if they are appointed, they will have to spend a lot of time reviewing
all the investigative reports and background of the case to prepare for
the guilt phase of the trial, he said.
There could also be altered levels of comfort and trust, Webby said.
Selenski, Webby said, is already comfortable with Fannick.
Normally, when a defendant has an attorney in a case that goes well, as
Selenski's 1st case did, a defendant has faith in that attorney, Webby
said.
And there's also going to be some scrutiny from Selenski to his new
attorney, Webby said.
"The attorney is gonna hear, 'Well, Fannick wouldn't have done it this
way,'" he said. "That's only human nature."
Fannick, in the last trial, was not easily swayed by Selenskis orders,
Palissery said.
"I watched the interaction," he said. "Demetrius never did anything - just
because Mr. Selenski wanted him to."
Having Fannick on the sidelines in the second trial should not have any
impact on the prosecution strategy, Webby and Palissery said.
District Attorney David Lupas did not offer any comments on Selenskis
attorney issue.
Pike realizes he and Menn are an appropriate fit to defend Selenski in the
second case.
"It's just logical that one or both of us would be appointed," said Pike,
a 10-year member of the conflict attorney group.
Selenski's preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 13. Prosecutors have
not revealed whether they will seek the death penalty, but they sought
that punishment in Selenski's 1st case.
How the system works
Conflict attorneys are not automatically appointed to cases, Pike said.
If a defendant is indigent and needs to be represented by a public
defender, the defendant first has to apply for representation through that
office, Pike said.
The public defender will determine if any conflict of interest exists in
representing the defendant.
A conflict, Pike said, could arise when 2 or more people are arrested in
the same case. If one of those defendants is represented by a public
defender, the others cannot be. Or, he said, if witnesses in the case are
represented by public defenders, the defendant also cannot be represented
by public defenders.
If the public defenders determine a conflict exists, they petition a judge
to have a conflict attorney appointed. Each conflict attorney is paid
around $25,000 per year.
Pike said the conflict attorneys are appointed on a rotating list.
But not any attorney can be appointed to a death-penalty case, Pike said.
The attorney must have 18 credits from legal classes and seminars and have
completed at least 8 significant felony trials.
"Then you could be lead counsel," Pike said.
Without those qualifications, an attorney could assist on the defense
team, Pike said.
Currently, Pike and Menn meet those standards. Other conflict attorneys
are in the process of being qualified, he said.
Palissery said there are several solid attorneys in the county that could
handle a complex case such as Selenskis case, but Fannick was masterful in
the 1st trial.
"Whoever his new counsel is going to be, it's gonna be difficult to be as
devoted and committed to this case as Demetrius was," said Palissery, who
has done work with Fannick in the past and believes Fannick is an
"excellent lawyer" deserving of all the recognition he is now receiving.
"He was phenomenal. It's too bad that Mr. Selenski and attorney Fannick
could not come to terms because Hugo would be well-represented."
Here is a list of the attorneys who make up Luzerne Countys conflict
counsel group:
- John Pike
- Steve Menn
- Paul Galante
- Sam Falcone
- Joe Cosgrove
- Mike Senape
- Bob Davison
- Joe Nocito
- Gerald Wassil
- Mark Bufalino
- Matt Kelly
- Brian Corcoran
(source: Times Leader)