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Court Hearing For Accused PSU Officials

HARRISBURG — Attorneys for Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and retired Senior Vice President Gary Schultz went to court this morning in an attempt...

HARRISBURG -- Attorneys for Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and retired Senior Vice President Gary Schultz went to court this morning in an attempt to get their clients off the hook.

Both men are accused of lying to a grand jury and defense teams said the case should not even go to trial.

Gary Schultz and Tim Curley were not in court in Harrisburg but their attorneys were, along with prosecutors for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.

Before the case can go to trial, defense attorneys asked a judge to dismiss perjury charges against the men.

Attorneys argued the top Penn State officials technically told the truth about what they knew about reported sexual abuse of a boy in a campus locker room shower by Jerry Sandusky in 2001 because their responses amounted to their opinions.

"Forget about the evidence, as a matter of law, you can't prosecute someone for perjury on that kind of testimony because it's not a factual assertion," said Schultz's attorney Thomas Farrell.

Schultz retired as the university's Senior Vice President of Finance after charges were filed late last year.

Curley was athletic director at Penn State and is on leave while he battles cancer.

Curley's attorney would not go into specifics about his prognosis.

"Thank you for asking," said attorney Caroline Roberto. "As with all health conditions, it's a very personal matter. Mr. Curley's condition is being monitored."

Defense attorneys also told the judge they need more specifics from prosecutors so they know what they are defending at trial.

The presiding judge will rule on the pretrial motions at a later date.

"You fight it at every stage. That's what any defense lawyer would," added Farrell.

Some issues brought up in the hearing, according to prosecutors, were issues that should be brought up at trial. Prosecutors said they have enough evidence, statements by Curley and Schultz under oath before a grand jury that will prove they perjured themselves.

No trial date has been set.

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