Attorney In Los Gatos Priest-Beating Case Files For Mistrial

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The attorney for William Lynch, the San Francisco man accused of beating a Los Gatos priest, has filed for a mistrial in the case, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

"We have filed a motion for mistrial in this case. The basis of the motion is that the Santa Clara prosecutor's office put on testimony they knew was perjury and in fact told the jury ahead of time the star witness, the victim, was going to lie and then asked him the question and watched him lie," said defense attorney Pat Harris.

Lynch is accused of beating Los Gatos priest Jerold Lindner in May of 2010 at a retirement home for priests. Lynch claims Lindner raped him and his brother during a church camping trip in 1975 when the boys were 7 and 4 years old.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

Lawyers representing the Rev. Jerold Lindner in the
case answered the defense's motion for a mistrial with their own opposing motion Friday afternoon.

In its own motion, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's
Office opposed the defense's motion for a mistrial, calling it a "novel legal theory, unsupported by case law, statute or common sense," and "without merit."

Paul Mones, co-counsel in Lynch's defense along with Pat Harris, said he believes prosecutorial misconduct occurred when Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Vicki Gemetti told the jury in opening statements that Lindner would probably lie about having molested Lynch and his brother.

"When the people put on Mr. Lindner, they had told the jury in opening statements that they expected him to not tell the truth and in fact that's what he did," Mones said.

"The California law is that there is a duty to not put on such
testimony and that forms the basis of our motion," he said. The fact that there is a duty to not put on such testimony and that forms the basis of our motion," he said.

The final lines of the prosecution's motion mention that it leaves it up to the court to determine how to answer the defense's motion to dismiss the trial, and poses whether such actions merit sanctions or referral to the State Bar.

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