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Wecht Could Learn If He'll Face Second Federal Trial

Posted: 5:40 pm EDT May 8, 2008Updated: 11:54 am EDT August 4, 2008

Former Allegheny County Coroner, Dr. Cyril Wecht, could learn as early as Monday afternoon, whether he will face a second federal trial.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments on whether the celebrity pathologist should be retried on fraud and theft charges.

A hearing is scheduled before a three-judge panel in Pittsburgh.

Wecht is accused of using his former Allegheny County coroner's office staff to do work that benefited his lucrative private practice. Wecht routinely consulted on high-profile death cases nationwide.

His first trial ended with a hung jury in April.

Jury selection in the retrial of Dr. Cyril Wecht was set to begin back in May, but was delayed after a federal appeals court in Philadelphia issued a stay.

That three-judge panel agreed to postpone the trial to consider an appeal that was filed by Wecht's attorneys.

Wecht's defense contends that a second trial would amount to double jeopardy, violating Wecht's constitutional right not to be tried twice for the same charges.

They also contend that U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab improperly dismissed the deadlocked jury.

That jury listened to nearly two months of testimony and then deliberated for three weeks, failing to reach a verdict on any of the 41 counts against Wecht.

Immediately after Schwab declared a mistrial, prosecutors said they would retry Wecht.

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