Businessman Gets New Fraud Trial After Attorney Caught Sleeping
A Pittsburgh businessman convicted of mortgage fraud will get a new trial after his attorney was observed sleeping on the job by a federal judge.
May 02, 2017 at 03:51 PM
2 minute read
A Pittsburgh businessman convicted of mortgage fraud will get a new trial after his attorney was observed sleeping on the job by a federal judge.
U.S. District Senior Judge Donetta W. Ambrose of the Western District of Pennsylvania in an opinion Monday said defendant James Nassida's Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel was violated when his attorney, Pittsburgh solo Stanton D. Levenson, dozed off for “a substantial portion” of the trial.
Reached Tuesday, Levenson said, “It was really only a couple of times, and it was because I was taking antihistamine and it had an effect on me.”
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