TRIAL FOR KOPP'S FRIENDS IS RESCHEDULED
The Buffalo News
LINK Dan Herbeck, News Staff Reporter
September 7, 2002
A federal judge Friday postponed the trial of two associates of James C. Kopp for two weeks, after defense attorneys convinced him they need more time to prepare for the case.
Jury selection for pro-life activists Loretta C. Marra and her husband, Dennis Malvasi, was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but District Judge Richard J. Arcara adjourned the case until Sept. 24.
The judge agreed to the adjournment after defense lawyers Thomas Eoannou, representing Malvasi, and Bruce A. Barket, Marra's attorney, told him they need more time to examine the prosecution evidence that will be presented.
Arcara again refused, however, to approve a plea deal for the two pro-life activists that was presented to him Aug. 21.
On that date, Arcara refused to approve felony plea deals for the two activists, saying he felt the prison time called for in the deal - no more than 33 months - was not commensurate with the crimes the two were admitting. The judge's actions have been praised by local pro-choice officials but criticized by supporters of Kopp, Marra and Malvasi.
Federal prosecutors have told Arcara they are worried that the evidence presented at the Marra-Malvasi trial will prove helpful to the defense of Kopp, who faces a later trial in connection with the sniper murder of Dr. Barnett A. Slepian in Amherst. Kopp denies the murder charge.
Marra and Malvasi, Brooklyn residents, are accused of helping Kopp to avoid capture in an international FBI-led manhunt after the October 1998 murder at Slepian's home. Their attorneys said Marra and Malvasi do not know who killed Slepian.
Kangaroo court. Judge Arcara should be thrown out on his ear for this kind of irrational behavior. But it's pretty much standard for liberal judges confronting defendents charged with any kind of pro-life activity.