2nd mistrial declared in Youngstown murder-arson case

Seman Motion

Download as PDF

Document

Judgment on motion to disqualify the juror pool, declare a mistrial, discharge the jury and change venue in CASE NO. 15 CR 562 - State of Ohio vs. Robert Seman.

YOUNGSTOWN

The capital murder trial of Robert Seman won’t take place in Mahoning County and won’t take place this month.

Judge Maureen Sweeney of common pleas court Wednesday granted a defense motion to discharge the jury pool in the case, declare a mistrial and move the trial because of pretrial publicity that would affect the court’s ability to seat an impartial jury.

Court officials hope to have a new venue and a start date for the trial by the end of the week.

Judge Sweeney’s decision came after a hearing Tuesday and after about 160 jurors reported for orientation Friday. Defense attorneys renewed their motion – which they made when jury selection in the case first took place in September – citing the questionnaires jurors filled out where 52 of 95 jurors whose questionnaires were examined said they already rendered an opinion on whether Seman was guilty of the March 30, 2015, deaths of Corinne Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt, in an arson at their Powers Way home.

In her ruling, Judge Sweeney said she reviewed more than 50 questionnaires and the defense argument seemed to ring true – people had already come to a conclusion about the case.

Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa said in a brief hearing that prosecutors objected to the defense request. She said in September, five potential jurors were picked on the first day of individual questioning in the case, and individual questioning had not yet started this time.

Cantalamessa said the legal standard isn’t whether people have heard about the case but if they could be fair and impartial in arriving at a verdict.

Seman is accused of starting the fire the day he was to go trial on charges he raped the girl, charges that carry a possible life sentence if convicted.

He was free on bond at the time of the fire and could receive the death penalty if convicted. His trial was halted in September after a juror made disparaging remarks about Seman to other jurors.

Defense attorney Lynn Maro said the questionnaires were stacked heavily in favor of her client’s guilt before the trial even began.

Meeting with reporters, Atty. Tom Zena, co-counsel for Seman, said a couple of jurors had to be removed during orientation Friday by deputies despite efforts by Judge Sweeney to separate jurors into smaller groups so any talk could be contained and isolated.

Zena also said moving the case now will save taxpayers money because they do not have to worry about any result being overturned on appeal because Seman could not get a fair trial because an impartial jury could not be found.

Maro, who has handled several high-profile criminal cases, said the increased use of social media coupled with a 24-hour news cycle have generated lots of stories about the case.

“We know from some of the comments we have seen that [people] have been looking for it online,” Maro said.

Judge Sweeney also said that because the case involves the death penalty, extra caution has to be taken to ensure Seman is given a fair trial.