State Deputy Attorney General Gregory Simatic has filed a “Memorandum of Law on the Issue of Double Jeopardy” in the Ronald Weiss case.
Weiss is the former Shelocta man found guilty in 1997 of the 1978 murder of 16-year-old Barbara Bruzda of Tunnelton. A federal judge last year abruptly threw out the conviction and ordered Weiss released from state prison, but he was immediately charged with the crime again, and the state has been struggling to keep the case alive as it battles the double jeopardy claim by the defense.
Federal Judge Mark Hornak ruled that the original prosecutor, then-Deputy A.G. John Scott Robinette, and a state trooper deliberately misled the jury during the 1997 trial by claiming that two prison inmates who testified against Weiss had not been offered preferential treatment, when clearly they had.
In April, Indiana County Judge Thomas Bianco ruled that testimony offered by Robinette at a hearing in January may be considered without restriction in determining the issue of double jeopardy. Last month, attorney Taylor Malcolm Johnson filed a brief in support of his motion to dismiss the charges and avoid a retrial for the 70-year-old Weiss.
The state contends that the guilt or innocence of Weiss and Robinette’s actions are two separate issues, and that Judge Hornak did not hear from Robinette when deciding to release Weiss. With the filing of the memorandum of law by Simatic, the defense now has until June 10th to file a supplemental or reply brief.
