Jerry Sandusky: Waiving Hearing Means No Plea for Accused Child Molester

Jerry Sandusky is going to fight to prove his innocence, and he waived his preliminary hearing to aid in that strategy.

The news that the defendant waived his right to the hearing came abruptly. Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, announced the decision just as the hearing was set to begin.

Kevin Johnson and Jon Saraceno of USA Today reported that the announcement was met with "gasps" by a packed courtroom.

This decision is far from an indication that the defense is looking for a plea deal. This was part of a plan that the defense felt would give them the greatest chance to win the case.

Johnson and Saraceno quoted Amenola as saying, "We are not in any way conceding guilt. In fact, Jerry is more adamant than ever than ever (in) expressing his innocence at trial."

Sandusky himself used this opportunity to whip into his bag of cliches.

Why They Waived the Hearing

Johnson and Saraceno went on to say that, "He [Amendola] said the judge would not allow him to question the witnesses on credibility in a probable cause hearing which 'really would have left us with the worst of all worlds.'"

Eleven accusers were prepared to testify in this preliminary hearing. By waving the preliminary hearing, the defense took the opportunity of the accusers to provide their side of the case to the court. The defense instead used this as an opportunity to state their feelings on the case, and, in doing so, they laid out their apparent strategy to win the case.

Amedola let it be known that they planned on attacking the credibility of former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary. Johnson and Saraceno quoted Amendola as saying, "To the extent that we destroy his [McQueary] credibility we put everybody else's credibility on the case in question."

McQueary was not scheduled to testify at this hearing.

Questionable Defense Tactics Continue

This decision appears to be just another baffling move by the defense. Jon Schmitz of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to two veteran Pittsburgh defense lawyers about the decision to waive the hearing. 

One of the attorney's did not agree with the decision, saying, "You are giving up the ability to pin down a version of facts from the witnesses. If I was thinking of fighting tooth and nail to the end, I would want to have the preliminary hearing."

The other attorney Schmitz spoke to said, "What is the strategy? I don't know. A defense attorney can get a sense and feeling for the case by doing the preliminary hearing. I feel handicapped when I don't do the prelim.

"Although this would have been ugly and the witnesses would have testified, you would have been able to evaluate their credibility."

The fact that other lawyers are confused by the defense's decision is not a surprise. Amendola's handling of this case has not been met with a lot of praise. In fact, he is quickly becoming a joke.  Sandusky's public interviews have been seen as a horrible move. The former coach seems to incriminate himself every time he opens his mouth. One of the attorneys that Schmitz spoke to went as far as to describe the handling of the case "as bizarre as the circumstances surrounding Area 51."