"The
state has agreed to the release, under house arrest, of a Clarksburg man
trying to overturn his 2002 robbery and sexual assault convictions. The filing by
state’s attorneys Dave Romano and James Armstrong also agrees that
Joseph A. Buffey be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas during a
hearing Monday before Harrison County Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell. Buffey, 33, of Clarksburg, is due
reasonable bail, the filing by Romano and Armstrong agrees, although it
never sets out what that would be........Buffey late last year won the right to withdraw his guilty pleas in a ruling by the state Supreme Court. The high court ruled that “the
State’s failure to disclose favorable DNA test results obtained six
weeks prior to the Petitioner’s plea hearing violated the Petitioner’s
due process rights, to his prejudice.” The justices sent the case back to Bedell, with instructions that Buffey be allowed to withdraw his pleas. Romano has indicated he won’t oppose the defense’s plea-withdrawal motion. So that part of Monday’s hearing is a formality. Whether the state will contest a personal recognizance bond, or where the case will go from there, is much less certain. Romano and Armstrong haven’t
backed down from alleging Buffey was involved, and the defendant could
face prosecution on other, unrelated matters that were waived as part of
the plea agreement. Morgantown attorney Allan Karlin,
along with Innocence Project lawyers Nina Morrison, Barry Scheck and
their staffs, generated evidence that led to the conviction of another
man in the November 2001 attack on an 83-year-old Clarksburg woman. That was in addition to Buffey’s
lawyers convincing the state Supreme Court that the state didn’t share
in time the potentially exculpatory evidence. The attorneys for Buffey also argued he was coerced into entering the pleas."
Friday, February 19, 2016
Bulletin: Joseph Buffey: West Virginia: Exponent Telegram; State agrees to home detention for Buffey; Guilty Pleas he entered in 2002 to sexual assault and robbery to be withdrawn Monday;Buffey late last year won the right to withdraw his guilty pleas in a ruling by the state Supreme Court. The high court ruled that “the State’s failure to disclose favorable DNA test results obtained six weeks prior to the Petitioner’s plea hearing violated the Petitioner’s due process rights, to his prejudice.”
