A federal judge recently said there will be no delay in disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial on multiple conspiracy-related charges, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The trial is scheduled to commence on June 3.
Mr. Blagojevich and his team of Illinois criminal defense attorneys were hoping a delay would alter the prosecution's charges because of a pending Supreme Court case that could diminish his charges. That case concerns a provision used by federal prosecutors to pin corruption charges on elected officials and other public figures, as discussed earlier in this blog.
A ruling in the Supreme Court case is expected later this summer; after Mr. Blagojevich's trial is scheduled to begin.
But US District Judge James Zagel said he believes it's simply a "red herring," hinting that Mr. Blagojevich is just trying to slow the process:
"I don't see any reason to [delay] this case. This is more than a year to acquaint yourselves with the evidence."
Judge Zagel also gave in to the defense, just a little, by suggesting he may allow Blagojevich to play secret Federal Bureau of Investigation recordings that may help his case. His lawyers indicated that the high-profile former governor likely will take the witness stand.
A moment of comic relief came from Illinois criminal attorney Sam Adam Jr., who said after the hearing that the public will soon realize that it was wrong to kick him out of office:
"We should vote for him again; 2016."
Another argument used by Mr. Blagojevich's attorneys in their effort to delay the trial was the complaint that they only recently were handed tens of thousands of pages of FBI reports and testimony from his grand jury. But Judge Zagel didn't budge.
Prosecutors also pointed out that Mr. Blagojevich debuted on the reality television show "Celebrity Apprentice" about a week ago and therefore had no excuse for not being prepared for trial.
Related Resources:
- Conspiracy (FindLaw)
- Blagojevich Arrested on Federal Charges (Chicago Tribune)
- Delay in Blagojevich Trial Opposed (Chicago Tribune)
- Blagojevich Skips Impeachment Trial, Governor Takes Fight against "the System" to The View, Good Morning America, Geraldo Rivera, Nightline, Larry King Live... (FindLaw's Common Law)
- Find a Chicago Criminal Attorney (FindLaw)
