Jerry Sandusky appeals conviction

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BELLEFONTE, Pa., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Former Penn State assistant football coach and convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky Thursday asked a judge in Bellefonte, Pa., for a new trial.

Sandusky was back in Centre County Courthouse with lawyers delivering their first set of appeals to Judge John Cleland, who presided over Sandusky's trial last year.

Defense attorneys want to prove they had inadequate time to prepare for trial, which resulted in a conviction on 45 of 48 counts and led to a prison term of 30 to 60 years, the State College Centre Daily Times reported.

The attorneys said they want Cleland to overturn the verdict and grant Sandusky a new trial, arguing the judge's refusal to grant motions for a continuance violated Sandusky's right to due process.

Sandusky, 68, has maintained his innocence.

The defense also was expected to argue it didn't have enough time to review the huge amount of discovery materials they received from prosecutors before trial and the judge erred in allowing a janitor testify about what he heard from a fellow janitor who saw Sandusky in a shower in 2000, the newspaper said.

The defense is also expected to argue the court erred by not forcing the state to turn over secret background checks on the jury pool, the vagueness of some charges didn't allow the defense to adequately prepare, the trial jury should have been sequestered and Sandusky's sentence was excessive.

Sandusky, a former assistant football coach to legend Joe Paterno, was taken Wednesday from Greene Prison in southwestern Pennsylvania to the Centre County Correctional Facility, The Philadelphia Inquirer said.

If Cleland doesn't reverse his earlier rulings, his finding would provide an official decision that could be the basis of further appeals.

Prosecutors have said Sandusky's defense knew of the investigation from the start and was in constant contact with investigators.