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Thread: Andre Franciscus Staton - Pennsylvania Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Injured lawyer resigns from Blair cases

    A Cambria County lawyer who was punched by a death row inmate during a court proceeding three months ago has resigned as a court-appointed attorney for Blair County, where the incident took place.

    Tim Burns, a well-known lawyer with an office in the 100 block of South Center Street, Ebensburg, will no longer represent convicted criminals in Blair.

    “I gave the position up in Blair. I don’t know how long I’ll be out,” Burns said Thursday.

    “I’m hoping to return, but the clients there need representation.”

    Since 2007, he has been working on a contract basis for the Blair court, representing clients in post-conviction appeals.

    Burns was in the courtroom of Judge Elizabeth Doyle on May 13 when the man he was defending, Andre Staton, punched him in the face.

    Burns was appointed by the court more than a year ago to represent Staton, a death row inmate, and was in the courtroom on behalf of Staton, who was trying to have Doyle recuse herself from the case.

    Staton also was seeking court approval to represent himself in upcoming appeal hearings.

    Doyle had rejected Staton’s requests and the hearing was about to end when the convicted killer stood and, using his handcuffed arms like a baseball bat, pulled back and then swung forward into the face and eyes of Burns, who was seated.

    The impact knocked Burns and his chair backward and rendered him temporarily unconscious.

    Staton’s blow was delivered with such force that the handcuffs left an imprint on Burns’ face, said Blair District Attorney Richard Consiglio, who witnessed the attack.

    Burns attempted to return to work at his office, but was ordered by doctors to stop working.

    He also suffered a heart attack, delaying his recovery.

    Burns told The Tribune-Democrat he has been diagnosed with what doctors term “brain injury” and was told to stop practicing law until he heals.

    “I have been monitoring cases and checking cases, but that all has to stop,” he said in an email in July. “It could be months and I am extremely depressed because I love what I do.”

    He said Thursday that lawyers from Cambria and Somerset counties have stepped up to ease his client load in his private practice.

    “I’ll be back,” Burns said. “I’m definitely doing everything I need to do.”

    Staton’s preliminary hearing in late June on charges related to the attack was featured in the July issue of the American Bar Association Law Journal.

    He was bound over for trial on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and aggravated assault by a life prisoner.

    A trial date has not been set.

    http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x1...om-Blair-cases
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  2. #12
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    Pa. judge dismisses 3 aggravated assault charges against death-row inmate in court incident

    A judge has dismissed three of four aggravated assault charges against a death row inmate who sucker-punched his attorney in court.

    In throwing out the counts against Andre Staton on Wednesday, Blair County Judge Jolene Kopriva ruled that a punch to the head must cause bodily injury or be delivered with that intent for prosecutors to charge aggravated assault, The (Altoona) Mirror (http://bit.ly/Mg20kq) reported.

    Kopriva said the defense attorney, Timothy Burns, didn't appear to have been seriously injured when Staton punched him May 13. He was rendered unconscious for a few seconds, but there was no evidence of facial fractures or bleeding and no prolonged hospital stay, she said. She also said the defendant, who was quickly restrained by sheriff's deputies, didn't resist them and made no threats.

    The judge let stand one aggravated assault charge specifically aimed at protecting judicial personnel such as the court-appointed Burns.

    Staton, 46, is appealing his conviction in the 2004 stabbing death of his girlfriend. He punched his attorney after a judge declined to recuse herself or let him represent himself.

    Staton's current attorney, Mark Zearfaus, argued in an earlier hearing that his client had not intended to seriously injure Burns.

    In other rulings, she rejected Staton's request for an outside jury and refused to bar county judges from the case.

    Burns has sued county and law enforcement officials, saying they should have done more to prevent any attack by the handcuffed prisoner.

    http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/vi...w-Sucker-Punch
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  3. #13
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    Death row inmate gets 5-10 years for hitting lawyer in court

    A man on death row in the killing of his girlfriend in 2004 has been sentenced to 5-10 years in prison for sucker-punching his lawyer by swinging his cuffed hands during a court hearing.

    Andre Stanton pleaded guilty Tuesday via videoconferencing to charges of aggravated assault and simple assault in connection with the May 2013 attack on court-appointed lawyer Tim Burns.

    The Altoona Mirror reports (http://bit.ly/1DTpun1) the 47-year-old from Baltimore apologized and said he wanted to resolve his assault charges so he could focus on appealing his murder conviction.

    Staton was reportedly angry with Burns because he wanted to represent himself in the appeal. Burns suffering a severe concussion.

    Stanton is challenging his conviction on charges he fatally stabbed Beverly Yohn of Altoona in February 2004.

    http://www.sharonherald.com/news/dea...ba2ab3e91.html
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  4. #14
    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Ahh, the joys of being a public defender...

  5. #15
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    Appeals court nixes suit

    Ebensburg attorney Timothy S. Burns has lost his bid to hold Blair County and many of its elected officials responsible for injuries he suffered nearly two years ago when he was attacked in a courtroom by a death row inmate.

    Just over a year ago, Burns, through Ebensburg attorney Robert P. Petyak, filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages for the severe head injuries and subsequent medical problems stemming from an attack by Andre Staton, who is awaiting execution for the 2004 murder of his estranged girlfriend.

    The 47-year-old inmate recently was sentenced to five to 10 years for the attack after entering guilty pleas to charges of aggravated assault and simple assault.

    His first-degree murder conviction and death sentence is still being appealed.

    It was during a hearing on the death sentence appeal in May 2013 that Staton became upset at his situation.

    He was being represented by Burns in Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle's courtroom.

    Burns had recently won a stay of execution for Staton, and the discussion that day was on the next step of the appeal.

    Staton wanted to represent himself, but Burns objected, telling Doyle he thought Staton needed representation by an attorney.

    The inmate, whose hands were shackled to a belt around his waist, became upset, chastised Burns and Doyle and even asked that he be executed immediately.

    As the hearing ended, both Staton and Burns stood, at which point Staton was able to lift his security belt.

    This enabled him to clasp his shackled hands together.

    He then hit Burns around the eyes and forehead with a blow that sent the attorney crashing into a chair and landing on the floor, rendering him momentarily unconscious.

    Burns said he has continued to suffer post-traumatic stress and a variety of other problems associated with the blow to the head.

    His lawsuit claimed the county and its officers, including the commissioners, the sheriff, the controller, the county prison board and several sheriff's deputies, failed to provide him with a secure environment to represent Staton, a job that the county asked him to do.

    The county responded with objections filed by attorney Suzanne B. Merrick of Pittsburgh.

    The visiting judge hearing the lawsuit, David Grine of Centre County, dismissed Judge Daniel J. Milliron and District Attorney Richard A. Consiglio as defendants in the lawsuit but refused to grant the county's preliminary objections.

    The county then appealed to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

    Senior Judge James Gardner Colins and Judges Bernard L. McGinley and Mary Hannah Leavitt issued an opinion late Tuesday sending the case back to Grine with instructions to grant the county's objections.

    Under Pennsylvania law, government officials and workers are granted immunity in the performance of their jobs, but there are exceptions, the three judges outlined.

    The lawsuit rested on a "property exception" under the law: that the courtroom was unsafe that day and, although there were several deputies in the courtroom, they weren't positioned close enough to Staton to stop his attack.

    Burns and his attorney alleged that Staton was not properly supervised, "which created a dangerous condition for Burns," the judges explained.

    In reviewing past decisions, the judges concluded Burns did not establish his injuries from a "defect in county property (an insecure courtroom)."

    The facts presented in the case showed that the injuries were caused by Staton in the commission of a criminal act, which superseded alleged lax security.

    Under the law, the judges stated, "This court must determine that the common pleas court erred when it overruled the preliminary objections."

    Burns, who is now representing himself, was not available for comment Wednesday, but Merrick, Blair County's attorney, said Burns can appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

    She believes the appellate court made the right decision, noting that if someone is going to sue a government agency and its employees, they must do so under an exception to the overall grant of immunity.

    Blair County, she said, argued there was no exception based on the security in the courtroom.

    The conditions in the courtroom did not cause the injuries, Staton did, Merrick said.

    Sheriff Mitchell Cooper, chairman of the county prison board, said Wednesday he has not read the Commonwealth Court opinion and could not yet speak about he case.

    http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/co...t.html?nav=742
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  6. #16
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    Pennsylvania v. Staton

    Opinion Date: July 20, 2015

    Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

    Appellant Andre Staton was convicted in 2006 for the first degree murder of his girlfriend, for which he received the death sentence. The sentence was affirmed on direct appeal, and he applied for collateral relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA). The PCRA court denied the petition without a hearing, and appellant appealed that denial to the Supreme Court. Because the Supreme Court concluded the PCRA court's findings were supported by the record and that there were no reversible errors in that court's conclusions, the denial of post-conviction relief was affirmed.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  7. #17
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    On September 16, 2015, Staton filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pe...cv00240/225927

  8. #18
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    Staton death sentence on hold

    By Phil Ray
    The Altoona Mirror

    A U.S. District Judge from Pittsburgh has granted a stay of execution for Andre Staton, the Altoona man who is on death row at the State Correctional Institution at Greene, convicted of the 2004 murder of a former girlfriend.

    http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/co...d.html?nav=742

  9. #19
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Staton's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District
    Case Nos.: (690 CAP)
    Decision Date: July 20, 2015
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #20
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    May 30, 2018

    Death row inmate loses latest appeal in murder

    Andre Staton, a death row inmate from Blair County, has lost his latest appeal in which he claimed several newly discovered facts entitled him to another challenge to his conviction for the 2004 murder of his estranged girlfriend.

    The 55-year-old defendant is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Greene County for the stabbing death of Beverly K. Yohn, 26, the mother of three young children.

    Staton was convicted of bursting into the Altoona home of Yohn’s mother, Penney Lantz, where Yohn and her children were living, on Feb. 25, 2004, and killing her in front of one of the children.

    Yohn had obtained a protection-from-abuse order against Staton six days earlier.

    A jury found Staton guilty of first-degree murder and found two aggravating circumstances against him, including his violation of the PFA.

    Blair County Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle sentenced Staton to death on June 1, 2006.

    Staton’s case is complicated because five years ago, on May 13, 2013, he forfeited his right to be represented by an attorney when he slugged his court-appointed lawyer, Tim Burns of Ebensburg, at the conclusion of a hearing before Doyle.

    During the hearing, Staton argued to represent himself in his appeal, a proposal rejected by Doyle.

    Burns suffered a severe concussion as a result of the blow to his head.

    Doyle ruled that Staton had waived his right to further counsel because of the attack.

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in an opinion issued Thursday and written by Justice Sallie Mundy, clarified that Staton, by the attack, had not waived, but forfeited his right to an attorney.

    Doyle permitted Staton to represent himself in his post-trial appeal and ruled against his attempts to overturn his conviction and death penalty.

    In the latest challenge, Staton claimed that Doyle made a mistake by permitting him to serve as his own counsel because, according to court rules, an inmate is not permitted to appeal his own case while represented by counsel.

    The Supreme Court summed up Staton’s argument by stating, “In (his) view, his own filing violated the rule against hybrid representation, since at the time of filing, attorney Burns was still counsel of record.”

    He also contended that Burns never filed an amended petition on his behalf as he was required to do.

    Doyle erred, according to Staton, by not appointing “competent” counsel for him, and, as a result, improperly interfered with his ability to present his claims during his initial post conviction hearing.

    Blair County District Attorney Richard A. Consiglio argued that “It was Staton, not (Doyle) who interfered with his representation.”

    The Blair DA in his brief to the Supreme Court pointed out instances in which Staton “attempted to thwart” his lawyer’s representation.

    Staton was appealing Doyle’s decision last year to dismiss his attempts for another post-conviction review as untimely for not being filed within a year of the official closing of the case by the Supreme Court, which occurred in 2012.

    Consiglio argued that Doyle’s handling of his appeal after the assault on his attorney was in fact “governmental interference” with his ability to properly present his appeal. Such interference would be an exception to the timeliness issue.

    Mundy wrote, “After careful review, we conclude Staton’s governmental in*terference arguments lacks merit. The record demonstrates Staton did have competent counsel. … After attorney Burns’ appointment, Staton tried to proceed (on his own) and when (Doyle) refused to permit Staton to represent himself, he assaulted attorney Burns in open court.”

    The ruling continued stating, “Attorney Burns never abandoned Staton. To the contrary, Staton wished to fire attorney Burns and represent himself, and when that request was not allowed, he forfeited attorney Burns’ further representation by assaulting him.”

    Burns’ alleged misrepresentation was just one “newly discovered fact” that Staton based his appeal.

    He also:

    - Contended his trial counsel, retired Public Defender Donald Speice, had a conflict of interest, having represented a witness in the Staton case. The Mundy opinion rejected that argument, pointing out the cases involving the witness was well before the Yohn murder occurred.

    - Staton, who now is represented by Pittsburgh attorney John Arthur Swab, contended his initial petition was a legal “nullity” because technically he couldn’t represent himself due to Burns’ appointment. Mundy stated that the moment Staton hit his attorney “he was no longer represented.”

    “At that moment, any possible hybrid representation bar to his … petition ceased to exist,” she stated.

    The Supreme Court upheld Doyle’s dismissal of Staton’s request for additional post-sentence review.

    Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor and Justices Max Baer, Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht joined in the Mundy opinion. Justice Debra Todd concurred with the opinion.

    Gov. Tom Wolf, who has the power to sign death warrants for inmates, will be notified of the Supreme Court ruling, although Wolf placed the state’s death penalty on moratorium in 2015 and has signed no death warrants.

    http://www.altoonamirror.com/news/lo...eal-in-murder/

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