Charges dropped when judge leaves for Iraq
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 21, 2008 10:48:15 EDT
CONCORD, N.H. — Charges that a New Hampshire man assaulted a teenager by whipping him with a belt have been thrown out because the judge had to leave the trial to serve in Iraq.
The state Supreme Court agreed Thursday with Ernest Solomon that starting a new trial with a new judge would amount to double jeopardy.
The 40-year-old was charged with three charges of assaulting a 15-year-old boy by whipping him on the legs with a belt as punishment.
His original trial ended when Derry District Court Judge John Coughlin volunteered to serve in Iraq as a judge-advocate with the National Guard.
The Supreme Court said a new trial would have been constitutional if the original judge had died or there had been a hung jury.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_judgeleave_032108/
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