THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507050071
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
A former Virginia beauty queen wants the state Supreme Court to overturn her convictions for attacking a romantic rival's family, saying media coverage prevented her from receiving a fair trial.
Tracy Lippard filed a petition Monday, asking the justices to overturn the convictions handed down in January in Greenbrier County Circuit Court.
Lippard, 24, of Newport News, was sentenced to two years in prison for a February 1994 attack on the Lewisburg family of Melissa Weikle Scott, who was pregnant by Lippard's former boyfriend.
``Countless'' media stories painted Lippard as guilty before the trial began, her petition said.
``It was impossible to locate all news accounts, however, those that have been submitted leave the reader with the conclusion that the defendant was pronounced guilty by virtually all media accounts,'' the petition said.
Lippard, a 6-foot blonde, drove 250 miles the night after she crowned her successor as Miss Williamsburg.
She pulled a pistol on Scott's mother and hit Scott's father with a hammer before she was disarmed.
Lippard denied attacking the family, saying she traveled to confront her former boyfriend, Todd Scott.
Todd Scott and Melissa Weikle have since married.
A jury found Lippard guilty last November of two counts of second-degree attempted murder and five misdemeanors. Felony charges of attempted murder with the use of a firearm were dismissed.
Lippard's petition said all of her jurors read about the case or heard about it on television before the trial. Three jurors knew the Weikle family, the petition alleged.
The petition also said defense attorney Paul Detch provided insufficient counsel by failing to suggest the trial be moved and failing to question the objectivity of jurors who knew the Weikles.
``One can hardly conceive of a case that has received more sensational publicity than this one, yet the court and counsel who selected the jury either were unaware of or chose to deliberately ignore the law of this state,'' the petition said.
The petition also said there was no evidence Lippard tried to kill the Weikles.
The court did not immediately decide whether to consider the case.
Lippard has remained free during her appeal. ILLUSTRATION: Tracy Lippard was convicted of pulling a pistol on her
ex-boyfriend's mother and hitting his father with a hammer.
by CNB