Montco Lawyer Suspended For Misconduct In Jerry Sandusky Trial

MONGOMERY COUNTY, PA — A Montgomery County-based attorney who played a crucial role in the prosecution of convicted child sex offender Jerry Sandusky has been suspended for professional misconduct on the case, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court determined in a ruling Wednesday.

The court voted 5-1 to suspend Frank Fina, based in Plymouth Meeting, for one year. They determined Fina had violated regulations in calling Cynthia Baldwin, the attorney of two Penn State administrators who were being questioned in the trial, to be a witness.

The action was inappropriate, according to the opinion issued Wednesday, because a lawyer should not be called to testify against the individuals whom they are representing.

Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach whose arrest and subsequent conviction spurred a lengthy investigation into the university, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

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The court's opinion noted that such an action by Fina could have been approved, had he received permission from a judge to subpoena Baldwin.

However, instead of securing that approval, Fina "mislead" the court by claiming he would not ask questions that would compromise Baldwin's attorney-client privilege.

Sandusky's prosecution was far from smooth in more than one respect.

Baldwin, herself a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, was embroiled in a separate controversy during the trial over exactly who she was representing: the Penn State employees being investigated in relation to Sandusky's crimes, or the university itself, as she was serving as the school's general counsel.

And just a year ago, Sandusky successfully appealed to have his original sentence vacated and to be re-sentenced, after arguing that the structuring of his sentence relied on an improper use of mandatory minimum sentences. He was ultimately sentenced to the exact same prison term the second time around.

Fina runs his own law firm focused on criminal defense and grand jury representation, based out of offices on 1000 Germantown Pike in Plymouth Meeting. His one year suspension goes into effect on March 20.