Joseph Buffey: West Virginia; Bulletin: Buffey cases now all set for trial, verdicts should be reached by end of year:... Matt Harvey: Assistant Managing Editor: The Exponent Telegram;

"All of the state’s charges against Joseph A. Buffey are now scheduled for trial this fall in Harrison County. Buffey had pleaded guilty in 2002 to two counts of first-degree sexual assault, and one count of first-degree robbery, in a Nov. 30, 2001, home invasion/attack involving an 83-year-old woman. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison and had served about 14 years of that when the state Supreme Court last November decided Buffey would be permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas. In February, Buffey officially did so, sending the case back to square one. For the state, that meant reinstating all the charges from a 2002 grand jury that had been dismissed as part of Buffey’s plea agreement. Additionally, prosecutors Dave Romano and James Armstrong sought an indictment last week on alleged conduct that authorities had known about in 2002. Charges weren’t sought back in 2002 due to the plea agreement, according to Romano. Buffey has pleaded innocent to all the charges (he did so on the counts from the new indictment Wednesday), and one of his attorneys, Allan Karlin of Morgantown, basically has accused the state of railroading his client......... Buffey, 33, of Enterprise, will face at least two trials, and possibly three. The first will begin the morning of Oct. 11, with Harrison Circuit Judge John Lewis Marks Jr. deciding both the law and the verdicts. Buffey will be tried on one count of burglary, one count of first-degree robbery, five counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of assault during commission of a felony, and one count of kidnapping, all in connection with the attack on the 83-year-old woman. Buffey and his lawyers, Mike Hissam and Isaac Forman of Bailey Glasser LLP in Charleston, and Karlin, who has a Morgantown law firm, insist Buffey had nothing to do with the home invasion and attack. Instead, it was perpetrated solely by Adam Derek Bowers, 30, of Clarksburg, they contend. Bowers was convicted at trial last year of burglary, sexual assault and robbery, and sentenced to 70 years in prison, after he was developed as a suspect by Karlin and the New York-based Innocence Project..........Marks also the week of Oct. 11 will consider charges of breaking and entering, as well as petit larceny, in an alleged Aug. 29, 2001, B&E and theft of $40 from the Stealey Pool; with B&E in an alleged Nov. 18, 2001, break-in at Smoker’s Choice, 126 Milford St., Clarksburg; and with B&E and misdemeanor destruction of property in an alleged Nov. 30, 2001, break-in at the Salvation Army in Clarksburg, as well as damage to a safe from there. While the court is scheduled to conclude taking evidence in that case by the end of that week, Marks won’t rule immediately. Instead, he will give lawyers from both sides time to file legal briefs that he could adopt all of, some of, or none of in his final ruling. Marks then will issue an order rendering his verdict sometime on or before Dec. 31, the day he’s scheduled to retire from the bench. Meantime, Buffey is scheduled to go on trial beginning Dec. 6 on the new indictment. Buffey is charged with third-degree sexual assault, accused of having sex with a young teen female in 2001, when he was 19; and aiding and abetting breaking and entering, and conspiracy, in connection with an alleged 2001 break-in at the Good Hope Animal Clinic.........While it’s possible Marks might have issued his verdicts from the October court session prior to the early December jury trial, it’s just as likely, or probably more so, that they won’t be revealed by then. Clarksburg Police Lt. Jason Snider is the lead investigator in the case involving the woman who was 83 at the time of the 2001 attack, and who is in her late 90s now. The woman won’t be able to testify. The state wants to use a recorded statement she gave following the attack; the defense contends it shouldn’t be permitted. The defense and state also are sparring over whether an expert witness will be able to testify on Buffey’s behalf. If Buffey is acquitted of all the charges, criminal proceedings will end. If he’s convicted of any or all of the charges, it’s likely Buffey’s lawyers would appeal to the state Supreme Court."

http://www.theet.com/news/free/buffey-cases-now-all-set-for-trial-verdicts-should-be/article_7cf12c55-fb50-5086-b25d-98a7b218ac1c.html

See Innocence backgrounder at the link below: "Joseph Buffey: Time Served: 17 year; Joseph Buffey pleaded guilty to the 2001 rape and robbery of an 83-year-old woman based on the advice of his lawyer who told him he risked a sentence of 200 to 300 years in prison if he went to trial and was convicted. He quickly regretted his plea, but it was too late. Buffey has spent the last 13 years behind bars. Defendants in nearly 10% of the 301 DNA exonerations have pled guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.  DNA testing conducted in May 2011 excluded Buffey, and after months of resistance from the prosecution, the profile was finally run through the federal DNA database to see if it matched a convicted offender. It identified another man with multiple felony criminal convictions, including breaking into a residence and robbing and assaulting a woman. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently ruled that Buffey’s constitutional rights were violated by the State’s failure to turn over favorable DNA evidence, and has allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea. Further proceedings, if any, will take place after the 30-day period for the State to seek reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision. Click here for the West Virginia Supreme Court’s decision Click here for the concurring opinion by Justice Allen H. Loughry II."

http://www.innocenceproject.org/cases/joseph-buffey/