Although testimony in the William Husel trial wrapped up on March 30, jurors still have not heard closing arguments and aren’t expected to until Monday. That will be 12 days since the jury was last in the courtroom. The Monday date comes after the Franklin County court rescheduled the arguments four times.
Judge Michael Holbrook’s court has not given an explanation for the delay.
But, WOSU has learned the likely cause of the delay is the filing of an affidavit of disqualification seeking to remove Holbrook from the case.
The Ohio Supreme Court confirmed Thursday the affidavit was filed, but because a motion to seal the request is pending, the court could not reveal who filed it.
However, local defense attorney Sam Shamansky is following the case closely and he said he knows it was the defense.
“I don’t have to speculate, I have it on very good authority that an affidavit of prejudice has been filed against Judge Holbrook. So, for whatever reason, the defense believes that the judge is unfit at this point to continue presiding over this matter, and they’ve asked for his removal,” Shamansky said.
An attorney for Husel, the former Mount Carmel doctor accused of 14 counts of murder, declined to comment or confirm the action, and messages seeking comment were left with prosecutors and Judge Holbrook’s office.
Husel has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him. Husel is accused of killing 25 intensive-care patients at Mount Carmel West Hospital by prescribing them too much of the opioid fentanyl.
Shamansky said the delay between the wrap-up of testimony last week and the beginning of closing arguments next week, is unheard of and bad for justice.
“I’ve tried hundreds of cases gavel-to-gavel over almost four decades and it would be fair to say objectively that this type of delay strictly from a perspective of what’s good for justice can only be described as unconscionable,” Shamansky said.
Shamansky did not weigh in on the merits of the attempt to remove the judge, but said, “in terms of what suits the ends of justice, you can imagine, hearing a complicated case for over a month and then expecting 12 people to retain that information as they sit unsequestered on their hands for two weeks, it’s just unbelievable.”
Shemansky says it would be difficult for anyone to retain the testimony, which began in February. The prosecution called more than 50 witnesses.
“It doesn’t matter if you are an expert or not, you’d have to have a photographic, indelible memory to keep in perspective everything you heard over a six-week trial. And remember the job of the jurors is extremely difficult,” Shamansky said.
“They’ve got to not only analyze and decide which facts make sense, but then we task them with applying the law, which they’ve never heard of before and just recently received to that set of facts they’ve derived from the testimony that is now going on, some of it will be going on 2.5 months old, or whenever the trial began," Shemansky said.
Shamansky said in his experience, Holbrook has always been a fair judge.
He said if the Ohio Supreme Court does decide Holbrook should be taken off the case, the court would likely appoint a new judge. That judge could continue proceedings. But, the case is inching close to “mistrial land,” he said.
Husel was originally charged with 25 counts of murder, but a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge dismissed 11 of the 25 original charges filed, leaving 14 charges.
In December 2021 Husel's defense tried to convince a Franklin County judge to dismiss the indictments, but the judge denied that request.
Husel has maintained his innocence and in December of 2019 filed a lawsuit against Mount Carmel Health System, claiming that he has "suffered perhaps the most egregious case of defamation in Ohio's recent history."
Mount Carmel Health System settled with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy for nearly $480,000 in January 2019 following an investigation into dosing practices and Husel.
Mount Carmel has paid $4.5 million in settlements over the deaths of patients who allegedly received excessive painkiller doses ordered by Husel.
