Defense objected to twin-jury murder trial of 2 men, but wants cases consolidated for appeal
At least one of the defense lawyers representing Johnny Parker, 31, and William Fillyaw, 37, in their joint first-degree murder trial earlier this year asked that their unusual twin-jury trial be severed.
But that didn’t occur and now a lawyer for Fillyaw is asking that their post-trial motions be consolidated in the Lake County, Illinois, case, reports the ChicagoTribune.
Appellate arguments for both convicted defendants will be virtually identical, explained attorney James Schwarzbach, and he is hoping to avoid potentially conflicting rulings as their cases move up the appellate ladder.
Attorney Greg Nikitas represents Parker. He told the newspaper he has no objection and noted that the consolidated approach “makes sense from an efficiency standpoint.”
