LOCK HAVEN – The prosecution wants a Clinton County judge to recuse himself from a homicide trial because of his ties to the defendant’s mother and his friendship with one of the defense attorneys.
The family of Jakob Lee Haines is strongly of the opinion there is at least an appearance of impropriety considering the circumstances and believes an alternate trial judge is required in the interest of fairness and justice, District Attorney David A. Strouse stated in the recusal motion.
President Judge Craig Miller is scheduled to preside over the jury trial for Brian St. John III in July.
Before then he will hold a hearing and then decide whether to recuse himself, court administrator Don Powers said Thursday.
A 1983 court ruling stated recusal is a matter of individual discretion or conscience and only the judge being asked to recuse himself may properly respond to the request.
St. John is accused of fatally shooting Haines, 21, of Beech Creek, on Feb. 26, 2021, during a gathering in a home in Woodward Twp. across the Susquehanna River from Lock Haven.
St. John is alleged to have taken a revolver from a drawer, pointed it at Haines and pulled the trigger. An autopsy determined Haines had been shot in the chest at close range.
When two Lock Haven city police officers arrived they found St. John kneeling over the victim applying pressure to his chest, the arrest affidavit states.
He was told to go outside where he told one of the officers they were “messing around” with the gun and it went off, the document states.
In his motion for recusal, Strouse pointed out Miller as a private attorney represented the defendant’s mother Bethy Jo St. John in criminal cases in Clinton and Lycoming counties in 2006.
Miller and George E. Lepley Jr., one of St. John’s lawyers, are good friends and were co-counsel in two high-profile cases, the prosecutor wrote.
Due to those personal and professional relationships plus Miller’s familiarity with the defendant’s mother “there exists a reasonable question about the court’s impartiality,” Strouse said.
Lepley has indicated he opposes the recusal motion, the prosecutor said.
St. John is being held without bail on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.
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