Judge considers recusing himself from VanDeusen trial

NORWICH – For the last few months since the State Court of Appeals overturned Tammi Van Deusen’s conviction, she has been fighting her way through the judicial process. On Friday, her attorney again requested that County Court Judge Sullivan consider recusing himself from the case. Since her appeal in July, Van Deusen and her Attorney Randel Scharf have been at odds with both the county court and the District Attorney’s office, continually citing the original plea and the circumstances surrounding it. “At the time (Van Deusen) pleaded guilty, she did not possess all the information necessary for an informed choice among different possible courses of action,” a memorandum from the Appeals Court web site states.

Tammi L. Van Deusen, who was 24 when sentenced in 2001, has been serving an eight-year sentence for her August 2000 admission to robbery in the first degree. She was one of five defendants convicted in connection to the July 17, 2000 murder of Edward Pastore Jr., that took place at Pastore’s 118 Lewis Road, Norwich home. The conviction, however, was overturned by the state’s Court of Appeals. The plea was rejected because county court officials failed to fully inform Van Deusen of the terms of her plea bargain. Specifically, the appeal court ruled that at the time of her plea, Van Deusen was not made aware that she was subject to post-release supervision. Her initial attempt to withdraw her plea was denied in 2000 by Judge Sullivan and she was sentenced on Jan. 22, 2001.