PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s District Attorney is pushing back against a federal court filing earlier this week from two attorneys within his office who claimed Larry Krasner told them to “protect the office” or “face consequences" during an early 2000s murder conviction appeal.
Authored by Civil Litigation Supervisor Thomas Gaeta, the District Attorney’s Office called the attorneys’ claims “ill-informed,” said they were not authorized to file them, and that they no longer represent the office in this case.
The two attorneys, Katie Ernst and Steve Wildberger, contended that DA Krasner directed them to “protect the office” or “face consequences,” which they said is "incompatible with their ethical obligations.”
It’s connected to a federal appeal to overturn a 2009 murder conviction. The murder happened two years earlier.
Last week, a former assistant district attorney who was assigned to handle the case testified that she was directed to write a motion agreeing that the defendant’s conviction be overturned, after meeting and “colluding” with the defense and the Innocence Project on legal strategies.
The office later withdrew it. Federal Judge Paul Diamond is now trying to figure out why. He is holding evidentiary hearings to get to the bottom of it.
Ernst and Wildberger were two of four attorneys who filed that withdrawal.
The DA’s Office said a new attorney is now handling the case.
They accused the DA of threatening them to 'protect the office' during controversial murder appeal
They accused the DA of threatening them to 'protect the office' during controversial murder appeal
