Australian cardinal back in court on sex abuse charges
Featured Legal News
Wednesday for an appearance in a Melbourne court where he will eventually stand trial on sexual abuse charges spanning decades.
Magistrate Belinda Wallington on Tuesday ordered Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic to appear at Victoria state County Court after ruling that prosecutors’ case was strong enough to warrant a trial by jury.
Pell is expected to face a brief preliminary hearing in which a trial date could be set.
Wallington dismissed about half the charges that had been heard in a four-week preliminary hearing. The details of the allegations and the number of charges have not been made public.
Lawyers for Pell, who is Pope Francis’ finance minister, have been fighting the allegations since before he was charged last June with sexual abuse against multiple people in Victoria from the time he was a priest in his hometown of Ballarat in the 1970s until the 1990s, when he was archbishop of Melbourne.
When Wallington asked Pell on Tuesday how he pleaded, the cardinal said in a firm voice, “Not guilty.” Wallington gave the 76-year-old permission not to stand, as is customary.
When the magistrate left the room at the end of the hearing, many people in the packed public gallery broke into applause.
Vatican spokesman Greg Burke issued a statement saying: “The Holy See has taken note of the decision issued by judicial authorities in Australia regarding His Eminence Cardinal George Pell. Last year, the Holy Father granted Cardinal Pell a leave of absence so he could defend himself from the accusations. The leave of absence is still in place.”
Pell’s plea marked the only words he spoke in public during the hearing. Wearing a cleric’s collar, white shirt and dark suit, he was silent as he entered and left the downtown courthouse with his lawyer, Robert Richter. More than 40 police officers maintained order on the crowded sidewalk outside.
Related listings
-
Dayton appoints Democratic Rep. Thissen to Supreme Court
Featured Legal News 05/07/2018Gov. Mark Dayton appointed longtime Democratic state Rep. Paul Thissen to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday, the latest in a long line of partisans to join the state's highest court.Thissen is an attorney and Minneapolis lawmaker who has served ...
-
SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Diabetes, decisions and justice math
Featured Legal News 04/22/2018Visitors attending Supreme Court arguments surrender their electronics on entering the courtroom. So if something rings, chimes or buzzes, it's likely the device's owner is dressed in a black robe.Last year, a justice's cellphone went off. But last m...
-
Drug companies want Supreme Court to take eye drop dispute
Featured Legal News 04/01/2018Eye drop users everywhere have had it happen. Tilt your head back, drip a drop in your eye and part of that drop always seems to dribble down your cheek.But what most people see as an annoyance, some prescription drop users say is grounds for a lawsu...
Can my trucking injury case be filed in Illinois?
If you have been injured in a truck driving accident, you may be wondering whether your worker’s comp case can be filed in Illinois. For an injured truck driver, this is an important question to ask, as the jurisdiction of the case can end up having a big impact on your benefits.
There are three main scenarios in which the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission would have jurisdiction over a trucking injury:
-If the accident took place in Illinois, If the employer is principally located in Illinois, or If the contract for hire is in Illinois
This means that a truck driver whose home terminal is in Illinois can make a claim for workers comp benefits in Illinois even if they were injured while on the road in another State. It also means that truck drivers who get hurt while passing through Illinois can file a claim in Illinois, even if their employer is located in another state.
If you have been injured on the road, and you are unsure where and how to file your workers comp claim, call us at (312)-726-5567 to begin your consultation. We can advise you whether Illinois is the right state to file for you. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.