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Saturday, January 29, 2000 Page: 5A
WILKES-BARRE – An appeal hearing for a Hanover Township man convicted of
killing a woman in a 1995 drunken-driving crash has been continued until next
week.
Jason Politz is trying to get his 1996 conviction for the death of Sharon
Yanulevius overturned, arguing his prior attorneys gave him poor advice when
they convinced him to seek a non-jury trial before a judge.
Police said Politz had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent when his
pickup truck crossed the center line of West End Road in Hanover Township and
struck Yanulevius’ car on Aug. 12, 1995. An adult driver in Pennsylvania is
considered intoxicated with a level of 0.10 percent.
Politz was convicted of homicide by motor vehicle while driving drunk and
sentenced in June 1996 to three to six years in prison. He was eligible for
parole on June 28, 1999, but the state Parole Board denied his request,
determining he remained a threat to public safety, said board spokeswoman
Vicki Wilkens.
Wilkens said the board again reviewed Politz’s case on Dec. 1, 1999 and is
expected to make a ruling soon on whether he will be released.
In the meantime, Politz’s attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, is trying to overturn
the conviction, arguing Politz did not knowingly waive his right to a jury
trial.
Cosgrove has also questioned why Politz’s prior attorneys, Joseph Yeager
and Vito DeLuca, withdrew a motion to suppress Politz’s blood-alcohol test.
Cosgrove has argued the test was inadmissible because the blood sample was
taken without Politz’s permission while he was undergoing treatment for
injuries he suffered in the crash.
Cosgrove argued the voluntary withdrawal of that motion, without any
reduction in sentence or other benefit for Politz, undermined Politz’s ability
to make an intelligent decision regarding whether to seek a jury or non-jury
trial.