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News Summary January 22 – February 4, 2011 Greenleaf's measure goes beyond recommendations concerning the conduct board that were in the interbranch commission report. The commission said the board needs greater oversight and recommended creation of a new commission to undertake a full-scale review of the board. "It's important for us to address all the issues that can come up and not just what is relevant to the interbranch commission," Greenleaf said Monday. His bill sets new requirements and notification procedures for the board. The senator wants board members to make the basic decision regarding complaints so the job can't be delegated to someone else. One provision says a complaint can't be dismissed solely on a decision made by the board's chief counsel. He said a two-way notification procedure is needed where a judge receiving a target letter promptly notifies the board while the board notifies a prosecutor about its own investigation of a complaint if it becomes aware of a pending criminal investigation. "It (target letter) may be of no importance, but it's something the board should be aware of," Greenleaf added. Greenleaf held public hearings last spring on juvenile justice issues after the interbranch commission report came out. He plans to introduce additional bills dealing with new guidelines for referring juvenile offenders to detention centers and legal representation for juveniles who lack the financial means to defend themselves in court. "When you take a child out of their home, that's a dangerous step," said Greenleaf. "It has to be a major issue involving public safety." Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Bar Association has scheduled a round of public hearings this spring to examine the state's judiciary, including issues involving the judicial conduct system, representing indigent juveniles and selecting judges. The PBA's constitutional review commission will hold a hearing 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 27 at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre Victim testifies against Moser Judge will decide if defendant will face trial as adult The Altoona Mirror By Phil Ray February 1, 2011 http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/546780/Victim-testifies-against- Moser.html?nav=742 HOLLIDAYSBURG - The Altoona Area High School student stabbed in the back while on the steps of the school's Fieldhouse Dec. 7 said Monday his alleged assailant had threatened him two weeks earlier, telling him he "had 24 hours to live." 32
News Summary January 22 – February 4, 2011 In a hearing in Blair County Court, the 16-year-old testified he was so concerned that he told his father, but the father told his son "not to worry" about the threatened attack and that it probably wouldn't happen. The two boys appeared to get along the next couple of weeks, and on Dec. 7, they ate lunch together and talked about school, he said. What the stabbing victim didn't know was that his alleged assailant, Jeremiah I. Moser, also 16, had brought a knife to school and was plotting to kill him later that day on the steps of the Fieldhouse where other students would see what was happening, according to police. The question before Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva is whether Moser should be tried as an adult or a juvenile. He faces charges including attempted criminal homicide. Moser's attorneys, Thomas M. Dickey and Joel Peppetti, have petitioned the judge to decertify him or place him in the juvenile system. Psychiatrist Dr. George Hromnak of Primary Health Network at Altoona Regional Health System, Altoona Hospital Campus, supported the defense's contention that Moser would receive more treatment in the juvenile system. "I'd say he would be a good candidate for therapy," Hromnak said. He said Moser, who has been in treatment for years, "has a history of getting angry and getting in various kinds of trouble," adding that Moser experiences "volatile moods." Moser was evaluated by Hromnak in April and was placed on medication that helped him control his moods. However he later went off the medication. Just 10 days before the stabbing, Moser suggested he go back on the medicine because he was upset about issues with a girlfriend. "He had insight to his problem. He saw it as an internal problem," Hromnak said. Kopriva said she would take Hromnak's testimony under advisement, as well as testimony from the stabbing victim and a 16-year-old female student who knew both boys. The judge has 20 days to make a decision or the request for decertification is automatically denied, said Blair County Deputy District Attorney Jackie Bernard, who represented the prosecution. Monday's hearing was the first time the victim had the opportunity to tell his story in court. He explained that he was walking with a friend when Moser approached him and asked him to go back to the steps of the Fieldhouse. "He was a little behind me. I didn't know what was going to happen," the boy said. 33
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