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BANGOR — A decision in the Tuesday morning hearing of the North Berwick man convicted of killing a University of Maine student in a 2010 hit-and-run was postponed to allow the defense to respond to a memorandum filed by Penobscot County’s district attorney.
Argument on two motions filed by William Bly, 23-year old Garrett Cheney’s attorney, was heard by Superior Court Justice William Anderson, who presided over the July trial. Arguments at the Penobscot Judicial Center lasted for less than 30 minutes.
Bly first motioned to acquit his client based on what he views as jury tampering during this summer’s trial. He said he would also be satisfied if Cheney was granted a new trial in the death of Jordyn Bakley, a 20-year-old elementary education student, on Middle Street in Orono on Jan. 30, 2010.
While leaving for lunch during trial, jurors were approached by an unnamed man who asked them not to let Cheney become “another Casey Anthony,” referring to the summer’s widely publicized trial of a Florida woman accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. Anthony was acquitted.
Jurors informed the court about what had happened and were questioned by Anderson. At the time, Bly and Almy had no qualms about continuing the trial.
Now Bly says that jurors must have been influenced by the man, since they deliberated for only two-and-a-half hours.
“If this was a verdict of guilty that came back in two-and-a-half days, we wouldn’t be standing here today,” Bly said. “They made such a quick decision, and they didn’t even review all the evidence.”
Bly said the jury did not ask for any testimony to be read back to them during deliberation or open all the evidence provided to them, including pieces of the front bumper he said were still wrapped in paper after deliberation ended. Combined with the man asking jurors to convict Cheney, Bly believes the Casey Anthony acquittal unfairly prejudiced jurors against his client, which he claims he could not have known when the jurors were questioned.
“They made their decision far in advance of the close of evidence, and that’s improper,” he said after the hearing. “Fundamental justice at the very least would require a new trial.”
“‘What has changed?’” Almy asked, repeating the question Anderson asked Bly. “There is a verdict that Mr. Bly doesn’t agree with, but that is a matter of opinion.”
Almy said the length of deliberation is what truly upset Bly, saying “that’s not the issue.”
“It’s not the length of deliberation that counts,” Almy said after the hearing. “In our opinion, the evidence was overwhelming.”
Bly’s second motion was for the court to release information about the jurors, which Almy objected to. Bly is asking for jurors’ identities to question them about the incident to see if it influenced their opinion of Cheney.
Almy’s written objection was provided shortly before the trial, and the court granted Bly 21 days to review objections and respond.
If Bly’s motions are denied once he files his response, the trial would be over and sentencing would begin. Bly said he expects sentencing to occur in November in that situation.
With a warrant out for his arrest, Cheney turned himself into Maine State Police in Orono on April 16, 2010. According to an April article in The Maine Campus, pieces of debris at the crime scene matched Cheney’s vehicle. He pleaded not guilty in May 2010 to charges including manslaughter, aggravated criminal operating under the influence of intoxicants, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in serious bodily injury, and criminal operating under the influence of intoxicants.
Cheney was involved in another accident at 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 30 on Interstate 95 in Etna, approximately 30 minutes after Bakley was struck, the article said. He is free on $50,000 surety bail and awaiting sentencing.
Bangor Daily News