While a new judge will be presiding over the trial of the co-defendants in the Philadelphia priest sexual-abuse trial, observers of the criminal justice system expect that she will handle the case well.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina, who presided over the trial of Monsignor William Lynn and former priest James Brennan this spring, said that she could not preside over the trial of co-defendants Bernard Shero and the Rev. Charles Engelhardt because of scheduling conflicts.
