A Wisconsin judge ruled Friday that a sexual assault case against Theodore McCarrick will remain suspended for the remainder of McCarrick’s life, but that the charges against the former cardinal can not legally be dropped or the case dismissed.
Walworth County Judge David Reddy told McCarrick’s lawyers Dec. 27 that while he is not competent to grant their request to dismiss the case, it will remain in permanent suspension until McCarrick’s eventual death.
Earlier this year, Reddy suspended the criminal trial against McCarrick, 94, after a court-appointed psychologist found the former cardinal incompetent to participate in his own defense. The new ruling extended that suspension, meaning that McCarrick will not face a criminal judge during his lifetime.
At a hearing last week, which McCarrick did not attend, Reddy said that state laws on trial competency prohibit a judge from formally dismissing charges against a defendant found incompetent to stand trial.
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