STOCKTON (CA)
The Record
By Roger Phillips
Record Staff Writer
April 18, 2012
STOCKTON – The civil trial of a former Catholic priest found liable of sexual misconduct against an altar boy ground to a halt Tuesday morning as San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt considered his options following Michael Kelly’s abrupt departure for his native Ireland.
After meeting briefly in chambers with attorneys for both sides, McNatt sent jurors home, instructing them to return to court this morning.
“Michael Kelly has made himself unavailable for the balance of the trial, evidently,” McNatt said. “I need some time to determine how I will deal with this.”
McNatt also instructed jurors to avoid reading press coverage of the case, though he acknowledged that large-type headlines Tuesday reporting Kelly’s departure for Ireland were almost impossible to miss. He asked if any jurors had heard comments about the case, and when one raised her hand, McNatt met with the woman in chambers.
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