The West Virginia University Clinical Law Program didn't immediately give up on Rusty's case when the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab failed to find DNA on the crime scene evidence. In April 2011 law students Jenny Hayhurst and Katherine Charonko, under the supervision of professor Michael Aloi, made a motion to reopen the murder case arguing manner of death was founded in error by Forensic Examiner James Frost. They stated in their motion that Dr Daniel Spitz, Chief County Medical Examiner, Macomb County, Michigan had offered to render an expert opinion on manner of death but a court order was required to release the necessary autopsy photos and xrays. Judge Jordan refused saying the case ended June 4 2010 with the failure to find DNA.
Frost had testified at Rusty's 1983 trial that the span of damage to the victim's spinal vertebra was too wide to have been caused by a contact or near contact shotgun shot thereby ruling out suicide. Spitz was prepared to explain that this is not necessarily true and such a shot could not be ruled out without examining the soft tissue which of course was absent due to decomposition.
On April 21 2011 WVU Clinical Law Program students wrote to Rusty
to tell him Judge Jordan had refused their motion to re-open his case and his only recourse was via a Post Conviction Habeas Corpus proceeding through his court appointed
attorney, Chad Cissel. They were aware Rusty had filed Disciplinary Charges against Cissel and advised him to request a new attorney via Jordan. They further advised that they were
closing his file with the Clinical Law Program and offered to send information
on his file to the new attorney.
During the two years that Cissel had been assigned to Rusty's case he never corresponded with Rusty or visited him. Rusty wasn't the only client he ignored. The law students were unable to get him to respond to them either.
Judge Jordan denied Rusty's request for a new lawyer in his June 9 2011 order stating, "This court is very upset that Mr. Phillips would attempt to create an artificial conflict of interest by filing an ethics complaint against Mr. Cissel." "What lawyer wants to take Mr. Phillips' case after he has filed such a complaint against Mr. Cissel?"
A few weeks later on July 26 2011 Jordan reversed his ruling agreeing to assign a new attorney after Cissel ignored his order to contact Rusty. In doing so he stated he had difficulty finding anyone willing to take the case until Mr. Hoosier agreed.
The following year Cissel was administratively suspended from practicing law following a 7 count statement of charges by the Lawyer Disciplinary Board.
On September 30 2013 Chad Cissel, age 38, died suddenly. The Disciplinary Counsel dismissed all complaints against him.
I will bring us up to date in the next installment.
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