Post by Logan on May 14, 2016 12:43:36 GMT -6
A former state Assembly speaker convicted in a $5 million corruption case asked on Friday to remain free pending appeal, saying there’s a reasonable chance his conviction will be reversed, negating the need for his 12-year prison sentence.
Lawyers for Democrat Sheldon Silver filed papers in Manhattan federal court, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to make findings in an appeal of the conviction of former Virginia Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell that would redefine the limits of laws used to convict Silver. They said a narrowing in the definition of what constitutes an “official act” for someone like Silver could lead to overturning his convictions for honest services fraud and extortion.
“There is simply no way to know whether the jury convicted on the basis of all the ‘official acts’ the Government alleged, or instead thought that some were official and some not — and improperly convicted on the basis of the ones it erroneously deemed official,” the lawyers wrote.
The lawyers said there were other grounds to win a reversal on appeal, including what they called “inflammatory and gratuitous” evidence introduced at trial last fall.
Read more: www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/05/14/silver-seeks-stay-free-pending-appeal/84369120/
Lawyers for Democrat Sheldon Silver filed papers in Manhattan federal court, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to make findings in an appeal of the conviction of former Virginia Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell that would redefine the limits of laws used to convict Silver. They said a narrowing in the definition of what constitutes an “official act” for someone like Silver could lead to overturning his convictions for honest services fraud and extortion.
“There is simply no way to know whether the jury convicted on the basis of all the ‘official acts’ the Government alleged, or instead thought that some were official and some not — and improperly convicted on the basis of the ones it erroneously deemed official,” the lawyers wrote.
The lawyers said there were other grounds to win a reversal on appeal, including what they called “inflammatory and gratuitous” evidence introduced at trial last fall.
Read more: www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/05/14/silver-seeks-stay-free-pending-appeal/84369120/