Four motions were filed Tuesday in McKean County Court in the criminal case against Paul Morrisroe, charged in the fatal hit-and-run crash in June 2015 which claimed the life of a Cyclone man.
Morrisroe, 40, of Marshburg, is facing charges including homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana for the June 2, 2015, hit-and-run crash on Route 646 in Cyclone which caused the death of Dakota Heinaman, 20.
His attorney, Robert Kinnear of Warren, had filed a motion for habeas corpus, a motion in limine, a motion to compel production of cell tower records and a motion to show Morrisroe’s truck to the jury.
The habeas corpus motion asks for a dismissal of five counts against Morrisroe — homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, DUI controlled substance first offense, DUI controlled substance metabolite, DUI combination of alcohol and drugs, and DUI general impairment.
Kinnear’s motion says that in order to convict someone of homicide while DUI, the prosecution must show he was operating the vehicle while under the influence, and that his violation of that law was the cause of death.
However, he argued, while blood tests showed the presence of a metabolite of marijuana in Morrisroe’s system, the amount — 2.3 ng/ml of Delta-9 THC “is too low to create impairment.”
Kinnear cited an Arizona Supreme Court case and argued “the fact that an individual can be charged for having any amount of a controlled substance or its metabolites without requiring proof of intoxication goes against the legislative intent of the law.”
He asked for the five charges to be dismissed.
In the motion in limine, Kinnear is asking the court to exclude testimony at trial regarding Morrisroe’s refusal to comply with a request to give blood, as it is his constitutional right to refuse; to exclude photographs of the victim at the scene of the hit-and-run; and to prevent Heinaman’s mother, Dawn James, from testifying at trial.
Regarding the photos, Kinnear said all evidence is subject to a balancing test, and may be excluded if it could unfairly prejudice the jury. “The photos of the victim at the scene of the accident are highly prejudicial in this case, and the probative value of the photos is greatly outweighed by its danger of unfair prejudice,” his motion read.
The testimony of the victim’s mother would be “highly prejudicial” as well, Kinnear argued.
“Ms. James was not an eyewitness to the accident and only saw the scene after the accident occurred,” he wrote.
The motion for cell tower records is seeking potential location information on an alleged witness in the case, Louis Bacha, who has testified that he had seen Morrisroe driving his truck shortly before the crash took place.
Kinnear’s motion indicated that Bacha’s cell tower records from that night “would help show whether he was actually in the vicinity of the accident on the night of June 2, 2015, which would help determine the credibility of this witness.”
The last motion is regarding Morrisroe’s truck, which was seized by Kane-based state police in the early morning hours of June 3, 2015, following the accident. It has been held at a state police impound lot ever since.
Kinnear’s motion is asking the judge to allow the jury to see the truck for themselves rather than get an idea of it through photographs, which “could be prejudicial to Mr. Morrisroe.”
“Allowing the jury to see the truck in person would allow the most accurate depiction of the damage, position of the driver’s seat, and how they relate to the accident,” Kinnear wrote in his motion.
McKean County District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg Shaffer has until Nov. 15 to file a response to Kinnear’s motions. A hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 18 in McKean County Court to consider the matter. Senior Judge William Morgan has been assigned to hear the motions, since he previously heard and ruled on prior pre-trial motions in the case.
President Judge John Pavlock has scheduled the trial to begin on Jan. 17 in Venango County. Ten days have been allotted for the trial.
Kinnear has represented Morrisroe since Sept. 14 after previous defense attorney James P. Miller abruptly retired from law Sept. 2, citing personal reasons.
Hours of testimony have been given so far in the case, during several hearings challenging the search warrants in the case, the evidence against Morrisroe, the specificity of the charges against him and whether all the evidence obtained by the district attorney’s office had been turned over to the defense as required in discovery.
The trial had been attempted in McKean County back in May. After three days of questioning — and excusing — potential jurors, Pavlock called a halt to the proceedings. Only five jurors were seated, many of the rest excused for knowing the participants in the case, being familiar with media reports or rumors about the case, or for other reasons.
At that point, Pavlock granted a change of venue and venire in the matter — the place where the trial will be held, and the location from where the jurors will be summoned.
Morrisroe remains free on $250,000 bail.
