Bail Remains At $1,000,000 After Court Throws Out NJ Man's Murder Conviction

HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Bail remains at $1 million for the New Jersey man whose murder conviction for pushing his wife off the cliffs at the Palisades in 1992 was overturned.

Stephen Scharf was in court in Hackensack on Tuesday. The 63-year-old has been in custody since December 2008.

Scharf was serving a life sentence after he was convicted of killing 44-year-old Jody Ann Scharf weeks after she had filed for divorce.

An appeals court in August threw out the conviction because the judge allowed hearsay testimony from Jody Scharf's friends that she told them she feared her husband.

The Record  reports the judge disagreed with Scharf's lawyer and granted the prosecution's request to keep the bail high.

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