The Poppe Law Firm Blog

Fen Phen Judge Says He Won't Participate in Re-trial

In the continuing saga of the Fen Phen Fiasco...

As if the acquital of Melbourne Mills and the subsequent mistrial of the case against William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham wasn't weird enough.  Now, Judge William Bertelsman refuses to hear the re-trial.  Yesterday, Judge Bertelsman indicated that, not only will he not be the judge on the re-trial of the Fen Phen defendants, he won't hear any more criminal cases at all. 
Because Judge Bertelsman is a senior judge, he has the option of limiting his case load. 
While Bertelsman did not comment further on the reasons why he no longer wants to participate in judging criminal cases, one has to assume that this case (and presumably the result) is the reason.
One must also assume that the re-trial will be presided over by Federal Judge Danny Reeves.
Judge Reeves was appointed to the federal bench in 2001.  Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Reeves was an attorney at Greenbaum Doll McDonald's Lexington, Kentucky office from 1983-2001. 
Although none of the lawyers have been convicted criminal, they are still the subject of a $45 million civil judgment for breach of fiduciary duty and they have all been suspended from the practice of law in Kentucky.
Hans