Jan 9, 2008 By Kori Walter For The 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – A scuffle with a sheriff in Georgia may help an Aliquippa man convicted of rape and burglary get out of state prison. A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel issued a 2-1 ruling Tuesday overturning the November 2005 conviction of Richard Edward Green because he did not receive a speedy trial in Allegheny County Court.

The ruling stated that Green’s constitutional rights were violated after it took more than a year to schedule a trial on the rape and burglary charges.

Prosecutors argued that the delay occurred because Green was serving a one-year sentence in Georgia for assaulting a sheriff and could not be returned to Pennsylvania for a trial.

Court records showed that Green fought with the sheriff, who was arresting him on the warrant issued in the Pennsylvania rape and burglary case.

Scott Coffey, a Forest Hills, Allegheny County, attorney representing Green, said he was pleasantly surprised by the Superior Court decision.

Courts rarely grant appeals based on arguments that a defendant did not receive a speedy trial, he said.

“The remedy is drastic because you are basically overturning convictions and freeing the person,” Coffey said. “That’s why it doesn’t happen that often.”

Green, 26, is serving his nine to 19-year sentence on the rape and burglary conviction in Graterford Prison in Philadelphia, Coffey said.

He anticipates the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office will appeal the ruling and try to prevent Green’s release.

Although Coffey said he may ask for bail if appeals are filed, he said it would take at least several weeks for Green to be set free.

“Hopefully, the right thing will be done here, and the court will not reconsider the decision, and he (Green) will be released,” Coffey said.

Officials from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office were unavailable for comment late Tuesday.

Moon Township Police charged Green with three counts of rape and one count of burglary on Aug. 9, 2003, after they said he broke into a woman’s home and raped her several times.

The Superior Court ruling stated that Allegheny County should have scheduled a trial by Aug. 9, 2004, to protect Green’s constitutional rights.

However, a trial was not scheduled until Sept. 26, 2005, according to court documents.

“In sum, we conclude that appellant’s rights were violated because he was brought to trial more than 365 days after the filing of the original complaint, and the commonwealth failed to exercise due diligence,” Judge John L. Musmano wrote.

Musmano was joined by Senior Judge Fred P. Anthony in the 2-1 decision. Judge Maureen Lally-Green dissented.

The court rejected prosecutors claims that Green could not be returned to Pennsylvania to face trial sooner.

“Without providing any evidence substantiating its claim, the commonwealth only surmised that Georgia refused to release appellant (Green) until his Georgia sentence expired,” Musmano wrote.

Green was sentenced Nov. 29, 2005 and deemed a violent sexual predator under Megan’s Law after a jury convicted him, court records showed.