When Jerry Sandusky was initially arraigned, as previously reported by Sara Ganim, prosecutors requested $500,000.00 bail and that Sandusky be required to wear a leg monitor. District Judge Leslie Dutchcot, however, ordered that Sandusky be freed on $100,000 unsecured bail. She ordered that Sandusky be freed and pay nothing unless he failed to show up for a court hearing.


Judge Dutchcot has quite the professional resume. In addition to her duties as district judge, she is of counsel to the firm Goodall & Yurchak. It speaks to the small-town nature of the county, I suppose, that the firm's URL is "centrelaw.com." According to her profile, Judge Dutchcot has been named the State College Lawyer of the Year, completed a "Leadership" program and has served as a counselor at Centre County Law Enforcement Camp Cadet, Inc.

Of course, also according to her profile, Judge Dutchcot is a volunteer for Sandusky's group, The Second Mile. Sandusky turned himself in the morning of Nov. 5, a Saturday, at Judge Dutchot's Centre County office. He was released, under the aforementioned terms, shortly thereafter.


Attorneys often serve charitable foundations in their pro bono capacities, or just volunteer in their spare time, so there is nothing weird about that. It just seems that, given the nature of the charges, the small-town atmosphere, and her relationship to Second Mile, Judge Dutchcot should have recused herself from being involved with this process. Or that could be precisely why she did not.

Update (3:20 p.m., Nov. 14): Her bio's been pulled. Here's the screenshot:

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Update (4:19 p.m., Nov. 14): Pa. Criminal Attorney On Sandusky Judge: "I Have Never Had A Client Who Was Charged With Those Counts Released On Unsecured Bail"


h/t Luke C.

Leslie Dutchcot [Attorney Profile]

Former Penn State coaching legend Jerry Sandusky could face life in prison if convicted on charges of sex abuse against boys [Penn Live]