Judge agrees to bypass hearing for 10 charged in W. Phila. abortion case

Warning defense lawyers that a trial in this complex case was a long way off, a Philadelphia judge Wednesday took a first step in expediting things: agreeing to bypass a preliminary hearing for 10 people charged in the operation of a West Philadelphia abortion clinic where a patient died and seven newborns were allegedly killed.

Common Pleas Court Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes ruled that the 260-page report of a county grand jury released last month more than made out a case that Kermit Gosnell, his wife, Pearl, and eight employees of the Women's Medical Society clinic should be held for trial.

Hughes rejected objections from most of the defense attorneys, saying scheduling preliminary hearings for 10 defendants, 10 defense lawyers, two city prosecutors, and support personnel would be an unnecessary taxpayer expense.

Hughes, who presided over the grand jury, noted that the panel had heard nine months of testimony by 62 witnesses, including 30 who were taken to tour Gosnell's shuttered clinic, at 3801 Lancaster Ave.

"The complexity of this case is such that getting this hearing today almost shut down the Court of Common Pleas because I have all the sheriffs here with me," Hughes said.

Indeed, spectators packed the large ceremonial courtroom, which more than a dozen deputies ringed to maintain security.

None of the 10 defendants said anything at the 50-minute hearing. All remain in prison.

Gosnell, 69, is being held without bail because he is charged with murder and has been told that prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty. His wife, 50, is being held on $1 million bail, and bail for the eight employees ranges up to $1 million.

The next court date is formal arraignment March 2, although defendants in custody generally are not brought in for a reading of the charges.

Hughes told defense lawyers that they would receive discovery - the relevant evidence and testimony underlying the charges recommended by the grand jury - in 10 days.

The Gosnells and their employees were charged after the Jan. 19 release of the report of the grand jury probe.

The report alleged that the clinic performed illegal late-term abortions for poor women, in some cases killing infants born viable.

Among the charges is a third-degree-murder count against Gosnell involving the November 2009 abortion in which a Virginia woman, Karnamaya Mongar, 41, died after being overdosed with anesthetics by unlicensed clinic personnel.

Gosnell is also charged with seven counts of first-degree murder on allegations that he killed newborns by cutting their spinal cords with scissors.

Four employees are charged with murder - two involving Mongar's death and two involving the newborns.

Gosnell's wife and all the employees are also charged variously with counts of conspiracy, racketeering, record-tampering, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

Wednesday's hearing was set last week when the Gosnells were brought before Hughes and asked why they had not hired lawyers.

After rejecting their claims of indigence, Hughes ordered the Gosnells to show up Wednesday with lawyers.

They did - barely. Wednesday morning, prominent Center City defense attorney Jack McMahon confirmed that Kermit Gosnell had hired him for trial. McMahon's associate, Mary T. Maran, will represent Pearl Gosnell.

McMahon, a former city prosecutor who has specialized in high-profile criminal cases since joining the defense bar, is involved in a trial defending Gerald Ung, 29, the former Temple University law student charged with attempted murder in the Jan. 17, 2010, shooting of a man in Old City.

McMahon and Maran assured Hughes that they would avoid conflicts in representing the interests of the Gosnells by maintaining a wall between the defenses and not sharing information.