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By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@leader.net
Friday, March 14, 2003 Page: 3A
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear Dr. Stephen Scher’s appeal of a
Pennsylvania Supreme court ruling that reinstated his conviction for the 1976
shooting death of his lover’s husband.
John Moses, Scher’s attorney, had asked the high court to hear his
arguments that a 20-year delay in arresting Scher had prejudiced his defense
to the point he could not get a fair trial.
Scher was convicted in 1996 in Susquehanna County Court of first-degree
murder for shooting Martin Dillon during a hunting trip. He was freed in 1999
after the conviction was overturned by the state Superior Court.
The state Supreme Court overturned that decision in August 2002, ruling
Scher, not prosecutors, was responsible for the delay because he lied about
the circumstances surrounding Dillon’s death. He is held at the State
Correctional Institution at Waymart.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the latest appeal means the case
will return to the Superior Court. The court will address about a dozen other
issues raised by Moses, including the denial of his request for a change of
venue and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by an attorney for the state
Office of Attorney General, which prosecuted the case.
Moses said Thursday he’s confident he will prevail on the remaining issues
that will be presented to the court.
“I’ve contended from the beginning that the strongest basis of the appeal
is in those arguments,” Moses said.
Kevin Harley, spokesman for the Office of Attorney General, said the
remaining appellate issues were not addressed by the Superior Court in its
initial ruling because the court overturned Scher’s conviction on the
pre-arrest delay issue alone, therefore if felt there was no need to look at
the other issues.
Harley said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is a significant victory. Had
the Superior Court ruling been reinstated, it would have impacted homicide
cases statewide.