U.S. Court Overrules Freeing of Woman Convicted of Murder

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia on Monday threw out a controversial order from a federal judge that freed a young woman who had been convicted of slitting the throat of a romantic rival.

In a procedural ruling, the three-judge panel said U.S. District Judge Stewart B. Dalzell had no authority to review the case of Lisa Michelle Lambert because she had not exhausted her appeal in the state courts.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly said state prisoners may appeal in a federal court only after they have raised all their claims in the state judicial system.

Dalzell “erred in reaching the issue of Lambert’s actual innocence,” the appeals court said. “Accordingly, we do not give weight to [his] factual findings.”

Monday’s decision has the effect of reinstating Lambert’s first-degree murder conviction and her life prison term. Dalzell ordered her freed in April. She remains free while prosecutors wait to see if the defense will appeal.

The decision also defuses, at least for now, a raging controversy over the reach of federal judicial power.

Some have praised Dalzell as a hero who acted boldly to expose police misconduct and free an innocent woman.

Others have condemned him as a liberal activist who seemed determined to put on trial conservative Lancaster County, Pa., its police and prosecutors. Local activists began a petition drive seeking the judge’s impeachment, and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he planned to introduce legislation to further limit the power of federal judges to review state convictions.

The case began with the brutal murder of 16-year-old Laurie Show on Dec. 20, 1991. Her mother found her dying in her apartment, her neck cut and a rope wrapped around her throat.

Michelle Lambert, then 19, had earlier threatened to kill Show over Show’s relationship with Lambert’s boyfriend, Butch Yunkin. A few days before the murder, Lambert reportedly bought a ski mask, a rope and a knife, all of which were used in the killing.

After a seven-day trial, Lambert was convicted of first-degree murder. A second young woman, 17-year-old Tabitha Buck, was convicted of second-degree murder. Yunkin pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

After her initial appeals were rejected by the state courts, Lambert mailed a handwritten petition for a writ of habeas corpus to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia. It reached Dalzell, who then asked a prominent Philadelphia firm to look into the matter and to represent Lambert.