Don Siegelman, Richard Scrushy lawyers argue in Florida court to have convictions tossed

[EFerrari]

Source: Mobile Press-Register

Don Siegelman, Richard Scrushy lawyers argue in Florida court to have convictions tossed

Updated: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 7:32 PM
By George Talbot

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Lawyers for former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth Corp. chief executive Richard Scrushy asked a federal appeals court today to reverse their convictions in a political corruption case, arguing that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling nullified several of the most serious charges.

Siegelman, accompanied by his wife and son, joined the audience in a packed courtroom at the federal courthouse in Jacksonville as a 3-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from his attorneys and from federal prosecutors.

Lawyers for Siegelman and Scrushy, who remains in federal prison in Beaumont, Tex., told the panel that the honest services bribery law that formed the basis of their convictions had taken new meaning as a result of the Supreme Court's June 2010 ruling in the Skilling vs. United States case.

The defense team argued in briefs filed with the court that the Skilling case raised "broader questions about the nature of our criminal law. ... If there is a fair question about a law's coverage, the question must be resolved against the prosecutors."

Read more: http://blog.al.com/live/2011/01/siegelman_scrushy_appeal_hearing.html

[OnyxCollie]

1. K&R. nt

[midnight]

2. I wish this would come to an end for these two men......

[EFerrari]

5. It will probably be months before a ruling.

[suffragette]

3. K&R

[dmr]

4. K&R

:hi: