Judge denies Koliser's request to delay carrying out execution

YOUNGSTOWN -- One day after it was filed, a Mahoning County judge has denied Martin L. Koliser Jr.'s request for a stay of execution.
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, is scheduled to be put to death March 9, 2004, for killing Youngstown Patrolman Michael Hartzell.
His lawyers, John B. Juhasz and Mary Jane Stephens, filed documents Monday asking Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to delay the execution while they appeal Koliser's conviction and death sentence to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Judge Krichbaum overruled the request Tuesday.
Stephens said the next step will be to ask the high court for a stay of execution, which would allow Koliser to stay alive while the appeal is pending.
She said Ohio law requires lawyers to first seek a stay from the trial court. Only if that is denied can lawyers then seek a stay from the Supreme Court.
Stephens and Juhasz said in court documents that without a stay, Koliser would be put to death months before lawyers on both sides have a chance to file written briefs or argue the matter before the high court.
Hartzell was shot while sitting in his stopped cruiser around 2:30 a.m. April 29.
bjackson@vindy.com