Posted on 08/24/2010 9:23:19 AM PDT by STARWISE
Rod Blagojevich's retrial may not start until next year, and if he wants the public to pay for his defense, he will get only two lawyers -- down from seven.
In a private conference last week, Judge James Zagel told lawyers a quick retrial on the corruption charges wasn't likely because of the logistics of getting a new jury pool.
Zagel said he didn't want to put a "Christmas burden" on jurors, pushing a retrial possibly to January at the earliest, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.
The two lawyers are not likely to be Sam Adam Jr. and Sam Adam Sr., who sources say intend on filing a request to leave the case.
The defense team has drained a $2.8 million campaign fund, leading Blagojevich to possibly turn to public funds. Former federal defender Terence F. MacCarthy said Monday if the public treasury is tapped then the judge is bound by rules that allow for two lawyers at max
** Ping!
It will still be a Big Deal in Chicago, even if trial is delayed. Still can have impact on D elections, especially if Blago is out running off at the mouth. Lots of Dems would probably rather have him tied up in trial than out spewing uncontrolled...
The judge wasn’t very politically correct. He should’ve referred to the “Christmas burden” as a *winter, holiday burden*!!
Prediction #2: No big name White House people will testify and Prediction #3: Blago will be convicted on more than one count next time.
“...especially if Blago is out running off at the mouth...”
####
From what I’ve seen that is the ONLY thing this arrogant, talentless, corrupt punk does well.
So they will retry him only this time they will cut down on his legal defense team? It’s like the Washington State or Minnesota recounts: if you don’t get what you want, add additional handicaps to the other side and move forward.
This Judge is an obvious Obamacrat.
Blago should demand his Constitutional right to a speedy trial. He needs to say he is ready to go and suggest, if Mr. Fitzgerald is not, it’s because he does not have a case and ask the judge to deny the U.S. attorney’s request for a delay with an order saying, “Mr. Fitzgerald, you have had two years to prepare for this case. If you are not ready to proceed on October 15, 2010, I will find you in contempt and in violation of Mr. Blagoyevich’s Constitutional right to a speedy trial. I will be forced to dismiss all charges against him with prejudice and to sentence you to 360 days for contempt of this court. I will see you on the 15th or the 16th, Mr. Fitzgerald, the choice is yours. This court stands in recess.”
I agree with you. It just gives Blago more time to run off at the mouth. That is, if he makes it to 2011.
Prosecutors Gone Wild: Lessons From The Blagojevich Case
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From the very beginning I argued that the public should reserve judgment about Rod Blagojevich. The Chicago Tribune had the openness to run two of my op-eds recommending suspension of judgment—“Fitzgerald comments crossed ethical line” (Jan. 15, 2009) and “Reign of everyday hypocrisy” (April 10, 2009).
U. S. Atty Patrick Fitzgerald’s inflammatory comments at his Dec. 9, 2008, news conference—where he stated that Blagojevich’s conduct was “appalling” and that he had gone on a “political crime spree”—were entirely out of bounds. Finding Blagojevich guilty on only one of 24 counts is some “crime spree.”
Maybe Fitzgerald confused Mr. and Mrs. Blagojevich with Bonnie and Clyde.
Worse, Fitzgerald poisoned the well of public opinion, leading to a zeitgeist of public frenzy—what the 19th Century Scottish essayists called “schwarmerei,” a swarming herd conformity throughout the country and an animating spirit that precludes reserving judgment.
At the time, I received the following letter on Jan. 22, 2009, from Edward Genson, who had been Blagojevich’s initial counsel:
“I would like to commend you for your opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune on January 15th and thank you for highlighting Patrick Fitzgerald’s ethical misstep.
Even in the face of this schwarmerei against Blagojevich, Fitzgerald still has to produce enough evidence to indict—imagine the schwarmerei against Fitzgerald if he fails!”
Fitzgerald had gotten away with it with Scooter Libby, whom he knew committed no crime but who perjured himself in subsequent testimony. And the Conrad Black case does not reflect well on Fitzgerald.
There are two powerful lessons from the Blagojevich case:
One, prosecutors can be wrong, can abuse their power. It is big government at the prosecutorial level. Seven decades ago U. S. Attorney General Robert Jackson observed: “The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. . . .
While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” Jackson also admonished U. S. Attorneys to be dedicated “to the spirit of fair play and decency. . . . A sensitiveness to fair play and sportsmanship is perhaps the best protection against the abuse of power.”
Two, public majorities can be wrong within what John Stuart Mill called the “tyranny of prevailing opinion.” History, he reveals, “teems” with examples of where majorities were later proven wrong. Perhaps the best known example is public concurrence with the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War ll.
Rod Blagojevich, though a bizarre fellow, has an endearing sense of self-deprecating humor, but he was the typical scheming politician, among whom quid pro quo is business as usual.
There is some truth in Mark Twain’s related observation that “there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress.”
Fitzgerald has all the money, all the time, all the power in the world to go after Blagojevich. He has, after all, a reputation to defend.
Accurate name for the article’s author: Natash KORECKI
Natasha KORECKI
(more caffeine needed)
Yep ... and you’ll hear the names of
Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and
Obama ... continuously.
Keep your security near, Blago.
While he is running his mouth, hope FBI still have wire taps in place.
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