WILKES-BARRE – The lawyer debacle involving the capital murder case against Harlow Cuadra is far from over.
Attorneys Steve Menn and Michael Senape requested future pre-trial hearings to be postponed until the state Superior Court responds to an appeal of a Luzerne County judge’s ruling that disqualified attorney Demetrius Fannick from defending Cuadra.
The appeal was filed with the state appellate court on May 30, but the request to postpone future hearings was filed in Luzerne County Court on Wednesday, several hours after Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. ousted attorney Paul Galante from defending Cuadra.
Cuadra, 26, and Joseph Kerekes, 34, are charged in the January 2007 slaying of Bryan Kocis, 44, in Dallas Township, according to arrest and court records. Investigators believe the two Virginia Beach, Va., men killed Kocis, whom they considered their rival in the gay porn industry.
Galante and Mark Bufalino, Kerekes’ attorney, were removed from the case on Wednesday after they disclosed to Olszewski that they began working in the same law firm in May.
Olszewski believed Galante and Bufalino had a conflict defending their clients, although the two attorneys pledged during a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday that they didn’t share defense strategies with each other.
Olszewski said he’ll appoint new attorneys to replace Galante and Bufalino to assist Kerekes’ attorneys, Shelley Centini and John Pike, and Cuadra’s attorneys, Menn and Senape.
Galante, Senape and Menn were court-appointed to represent Cuadra in January.
By the end of the month, Fannick filed court records to officially represent Cuadra, releasing Galante, Senape and Menn from their role.
Prosecutors fought to have Fannick removed from defending Cuadra claiming Fannick had previously met with Kerekes.
That, prosecutors claimed, created a conflict of interest.
Olszewski agreed in March and disqualified Fannick from the case. Cuadra immediately filed an appeal, but Olszewski refused to change his ruling.
The appeal filed in state Superior Court claims Cuadra’s right to counsel was violated when Olszewski disqualified Fannick.
A defendant in a criminal case has the constitutional right to choose a defense lawyer of his/her choice, as long as it is at his/her own expense, the appeal states.
If the Superior Court agrees to hear arguments on the appeal, the trial scheduled for September may be delayed.
Olszewski said Wednesday that he intends to start the trial on Sept. 2.
