news in brief

Scranton – In a first for Pennsylvania, a judge said he will probably allow jurors to see a computer animation that simulates a man shooting his wife to death.



Lackawanna County Common Pleas Court Judge Terrence R. Nealon ruled that prosecutors may use the two-minute animated depiction provided it ‘does not include any inflammatory features which may cause unfair prejudice.’



Nealon wrote that he is the first Pennsylvania judge to rule on the admissibility of computer animation in a criminal trial. Gerald C. Grimaud, a lawyer and longtime observer of the state’s court system, said he cannot recall animation ever being used in a Pennsylvania criminal trial.



Legal scholars say computer-generated imagery is rarely used in criminal cases, partly because of the expense and partly because of concerns it might prejudice jurors.



‘The more realistic the animation looks, the greater concern about unfair prejudice,’ said Fred Lederer, director of Courtroom 21, a model high-tech courtroom at the College of William & Mary law school.



The Pennsylvania case involves Michael Serge, who was arrested Jan. 15 after he called 911 and said he had fatally shot his wife. Serge’s trial on first- and third-degree murder charges is scheduled to begin next month.



Serge, a retired Scranton police detective, has said 53-year-old Jennifer Serge came at him with a knife in their Scott Township home and that he shot her in self-defense.



But the prosecution contends the first shot hit Serge in the back, proving that she was not headed in Serge’s direction and negating his self-defense claim. The animation, based on prosecution expert testimony, supports that version of the shooting.



But defense attorney Joseph D’Andrea ridiculed the video as a ‘cartoon’ and said he would challenge its admissibility. The defense contends the first shot hit Serge in the side, not the back.

Man Sentenced for Threatening Judge

Pittsburgh – An Allegheny County man with a history of mental problems was sentenced last week in federal court to five years probation for threatening a federal judge.



John Michael Matvia, of North Braddock, must participate in psychiatric treatment and counseling to comply with the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge James McClure, who came from central Pennsylvania to preside over the case after all Pittsburgh judges were ordered to recuse themselves.



Matvia pleaded guilty in July to calling the FBI office in Pittsburgh in April and threatening to kill U.S. District Court Chief Judge Donald Ziegler. He said decisions Ziegler handed down in two civil cases in the early 1990s bothered him for years.



U.S. Attorney James H. Love said Matvia denied guilt but also expressed remorse when he appeared before McClure.



Sentencing guidelines called for zero to six months in jail.



McClure’s attorney declined comment.



Matvia had also threatened to kill Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bob Colville and Raymond Scheib, a retired common pleas judge.

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