Alleged cop-killer's lawyers ask judge to recuse herself

The trial of William J. Barnes, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of a police officer who died 41 years after he was shot and paralyzed, could now be delayed until 2011 following a request made yesterday by his new defense team.

Samuel Silver, of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, yesterday asked Common Pleas Judge Shelley Robins New to recuse herself from the case, saying that her name appeared on a 1977 state Superior Court decision in the Barnes case. New was then a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office.

In response, New said yesterday that she had "absolutely no memory" of having worked on the Barnes case. She said she had started with the D.A.'s office in November 1976, when she began training. She said that if she had spent time in the D.A.'s appellate division, it would have been for a brief time.

But she said that she would recuse herself based on the defense attorney's request. The "court does not believe in any way I would not be fair," she said.

New said that she believed that Silver's request would delay Barnes' trial until 2011. Barnes, now 73, is scheduled for a jury trial in New's courtroom on Feb. 1, 2010. He remains in state custody without bail.

Because of the numerous cases in the court system, the earliest some judges can schedule trials for is 2011.

A final decision on whether New will recuse herself will not be made until tomorrow.

Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron told the judge that he would like a day to investigate the earlier Superior Court matter with his office's appellate division.

The Oct. 26, 1977, Superior Court decision simply says that it affirmed an order by the Court of Common Pleas denying a post-conviction petition by Barnes.

The Superior Court received the matter on Dec. 22, 1976. New was listed as the assistant district attorney on the case.

On Nov. 27, 1966, Barnes, then 30, shot Officer Walter T. Barclay Jr. after Barclay and his partner surprised Barnes, who was attempting to burglarize an East Oak Lane beauty salon. Barclay, then 23, became paralyzed from the waist down. In a 1968 trial, Barnes was convicted of assault with intent to kill, battery and related charges.

He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

On Aug. 19, 2007, Barclay, then 64, died of complications from a urinary-tract infection.

The D.A.'s Office then charged Barnes with murder, contending that the officer's death was a result of an unbroken "chain of events" from the shooting.