The State Superior Court has ruled that Ronald Weiss’s appeal may go forward, as he seeks to reverse Indiana County Judge Thomas Bianco’s rejection of a motion to dismiss Weiss’s murder case.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the court discharged a November order for Weiss to show cause why it should not quash his appeal. While appearing satisfied for now, the ruling notifies Weiss that the three-judge panel may raise the issue again and he should be prepared to address any concerns they may have.
Bianco ruled last August that Weiss can be re-tried for the murder of 16-year-old Barbara Bruzda of Tunnelton in October of 1978. Bruzda’s body was found in March of 1979 and Weiss was finally convicted of her murder in 1997, but a federal judge in 2018 overturned the conviction based on prosecutorial misconduct by the state attorney general’s office. At the time of his ruling, Judge Mark Hornak raised the issue of possible double jeopardy, but Judge Bianco accepted the state’s argument that the issues of the misconduct and Weiss’s guilt or innocence of the murder are separate.
Last week, the appeals court granted Weiss’s motion for an extension of time to file his brief outlining his reason for appealing. That brief is now due on February 12th.
