Appeals in the state Superior Court for Paul Morrisroe, a Marshburg man convicted a year ago of a homicide by motor vehicle while DUI, remain ongoing.
Court records indicate that Smethport attorney James Miller is asking for a fourth extension of time to file a brief.
The most recent appeal, filed in the month after the trial in March 2017, included 38 allegations of trial court error. Three other appeals that pertain to pretrial matters are also still active.
The trial was held from Jan. 16-26, 2017, in Venango County before McKean County President Judge John Pavlock.
Morrisroe, 41, is serving a term of 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison for allegations that on June 2, 2015, in Cyclone, while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, he operated a pick-up truck that struck a motorcycle driven by Dakota Heinaman, 20. Heinaman died at the scene; Morrisroe’s truck left the scene without stopping.
He was found guilty Jan. 26, 2017, and sentenced Feb. 22, 2017.
Morrisroe maintained his innocence throughout the process, and Miller announced on the day Morrisroe was sentenced that he intended to appeal the sentence.
Miller’s post-sentence appeal included assertions that the trial court was in error for failing to grant a mistrial and failure to grant several defense motions at hearings throughout the case on matters such as suppression of evidence, recusal of Pavlock from the case and dismissal of the most serious charges.
Pavlock countered the assertions with a 77-page statement listing why each of the 38 allegations in appeal should be denied, writing, “This court feels compelled to express concern over the difficulty that the defense has created in the ability to give any one legitimate issue the attention it deserves.”
On Jan. 17, District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer filed a motion to dismiss the appeal.
Shaffer explained in her motion that Morrisroe requested three extensions to file his brief, which were all granted; however, the third extension was granted with the statement that “no further extensions of time to file appellant’s brief shall be granted.”
The third extension gave a new deadline of Jan. 12; as of Jan. 17, neither a brief nor a request for an additional extension had been filed, Shaffer stated.
A response from Miller dated Jan. 22 stated that he “inadvertently, when entering the new date, entered January 22, 2018, instead of January 12, 2018,” and did not realize the error until the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 19, when he received Shaffer’s application to dismiss the appeal.
Miller asked for an extension for that reason, as well as due to two ongoing health issues that have prevented him from working full days.
In the response, he requested an extension until Feb. 2. The online court docket for the appeal indicates a document was filed Feb. 9 for the purpose of asking for another extension.
A hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday on Morrisroe’s “second motion to supplement the record on appeal” was not held.
Court records indicate Morrisroe is currently incarcerated in state prison in Albion.
