Moyler arraignment delayed

Published 8:10 am Friday, September 4, 2009

COURTLAND—The arraignment of former Franklin attorney J. Edward Moyler in Southampton County Circuit Court has been postponed until 9:30 a.m. Oct. 15.

Southampton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Cooke and Tom Watkins, the public defender representing Moyler, jointly requested continuance of the arraignment hearing, which had been scheduled for Thursday. Judge John C. Morrison Jr. is presiding over the case.

Cooke said Thursday that both the prosecution and the defense were waiting for some documents related to the case to become available.

Moyler, who practiced law in Franklin for 54 years, faces nine counts of embezzlement and is accused of taking more than $4 million from clients’ estates while acting as executor of their wills. If convicted on each count, Moyler could face up to 180 years in prison.

Civil proceedings are scheduled to resume in Suffolk Circuit Court at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 10. Meanwhile, an investigation by state police into the embezzlement charges is continuing.