Court mulls if Jefferson indictment is tainted
Lawyer Blogs
A Louisiana congressman accused of taking bribes challenged his indictment before a federal appeals court Wednesday, claiming grand jury testimony infringed on his constitutionally protected activities.
Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's attorney told a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a congressional aide's testimony about Jefferson's leadership in passing trade legislation benefiting African nations violated the Constitution's speech or debate clause.
The clause says congressmen "shall not be questioned in any other Place" for speech or debate associated with their legislative actions. A federal judge in February refused to dismiss the indictment. Jefferson, who faces up to 235 years in prison if convicted of bribery and other charges, appealed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle told the appeals court judges that U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III got it right when he ruled that Jefferson's lawyers sought to apply the clause so broadly that it would make it virtually impossible to ever charge a congressman with a crime.
Jefferson's attorney, Robert P. Trout, contended the testimony about how the congressman gained influence with African leaders was at the heart of the government's case. Trout said one of the ways Jefferson gained that influence, according to grand jury testimony, was through leadership on the trade legislation.
The appeals court judges vigorously questioned Lytle and Trout for about 50 minutes, focusing on whether the indictment was tainted if prosecutors neither sought nor relied on the testimony cited by Jefferson.
Lytle said the aide volunteered the information in question, which amounted to just four lines in a massive set of grand jury transcripts.
Related listings
-
Amid financial crisis, Stevens asks to skip trial
Lawyer Blogs 09/24/2008As Congress rushed to stop a meltdown in the U.S. financial market, the Senate's senior Republican told a federal judge Tuesday that he might need to skip out of his corruption trial from time to time this week.Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens said he underst...
-
Illinois' top court denies appeal in Sprint case
Lawyer Blogs 09/24/2008The Illinois Supreme Court has dealt Sprint Nextel Corp. another setback in its fight with affiliate iPCS Inc. over the Nextel network.The court on Wednesday refused to hear Sprint's appeal of a March ruling by the Appellate Court of Illinois that wo...
-
Stevens asks to skip court during financial mess
Lawyer Blogs 09/23/2008With Congress rushing to stop a meltdown in the U.S. financial market, Sen. Ted Stevens asked a federal judge Tuesday to let him skip out of his corruption trial from time to time.The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Stevens is fighting charges t...
New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.