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| __________________________________________________________________________________________ Sponsored by Friends of Don Siegelman 2007 <feedback> __________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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NOVEMBER 09 2007
1. Siegelman Bounces Back to the District Court on Bail Pending
Appeal
2. Mukasey confirmed as attorney general
3. Siegelman's status deserves review
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Siegelman Bounces Back to the District
Court on Bail Pending Appeal
White Collar Crime Blog
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and his lawyers must feel
a bit like a ping-pong ball at this point as his request for bail pending
appeal of his conviction on corruption charges goes back before U.S.
District Judge Mark Fuller for a third time. After turning down the
original request for bail by Siegelman.... Judge Fuller took the
unusual step -- at least in a white collar case -- of ordering the
defendants to begin their prison terms immediately after sentencing.
The defendants appealed to the Eleventh Circuit for bail, and that
court remanded the requests of both defendants to the district court
for further consideration.
....It's not clear why the panel does not just order bail for Siegelman
on its own rather than sending the case back again. A decision in
favor of a defendant on the bail issue is certainly not unknown -- the
Tenth Circuit granted former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's request
for bail after the denial by the district court without requiring an
explanation of the decision.
<link to source>
..................................................................................................................................................
Mukasey confirmed as attorney general
by Laurie Kellman Associated Press
The Senate confirmed retired judge Michael Mukasey as attorney
general Thursday night to replace Alberto Gonzales, who was forced
from office in a scandal over his handling of the Justice Department.
President Bush thanked the Senate, even though the margin had
been whittled down from nearly unanimous by a sharp debate over
Mukasey's refusal to say whether the waterboarding interrogation
technique is torture.
"He will be an outstanding attorney general," Bush said in a
statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
<link to source>
.................................................................................................................................................
Siegelman's status deserves review
Tuscaloosa News
....Robert Sigler, a retired criminal justice professor at the University
of Alabama, told The Decatur Daily that it's "extraordinarily unusual
for people like this not to be allowed to remain free and given a
reporting date or an appeals bond.
He said it looks like Siegelman was rushed off to prison to ensure
that he would receive some punishment, even if his conviction was
overturned on appeal.
Asked by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals why he refused to
release Siegelman on Bond, Judge Fuller responded last month that
there was not a substantial likelihood that the conviction would be
reversed.
<link to source>
..................................................................................................................................................
1. Siegelman Bounces Back to the District Court on Bail Pending
Appeal
2. Mukasey confirmed as attorney general
3. Siegelman's status deserves review
..........................................................................................................
Siegelman Bounces Back to the District
Court on Bail Pending Appeal
White Collar Crime Blog
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and his lawyers must feel
a bit like a ping-pong ball at this point as his request for bail pending
appeal of his conviction on corruption charges goes back before U.S.
District Judge Mark Fuller for a third time. After turning down the
original request for bail by Siegelman.... Judge Fuller took the
unusual step -- at least in a white collar case -- of ordering the
defendants to begin their prison terms immediately after sentencing.
The defendants appealed to the Eleventh Circuit for bail, and that
court remanded the requests of both defendants to the district court
for further consideration.
....It's not clear why the panel does not just order bail for Siegelman
on its own rather than sending the case back again. A decision in
favor of a defendant on the bail issue is certainly not unknown -- the
Tenth Circuit granted former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's request
for bail after the denial by the district court without requiring an
explanation of the decision.
<link to source>
..................................................................................................................................................
Mukasey confirmed as attorney general
by Laurie Kellman Associated Press
The Senate confirmed retired judge Michael Mukasey as attorney
general Thursday night to replace Alberto Gonzales, who was forced
from office in a scandal over his handling of the Justice Department.
President Bush thanked the Senate, even though the margin had
been whittled down from nearly unanimous by a sharp debate over
Mukasey's refusal to say whether the waterboarding interrogation
technique is torture.
"He will be an outstanding attorney general," Bush said in a
statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
<link to source>
.................................................................................................................................................
Siegelman's status deserves review
Tuscaloosa News
....Robert Sigler, a retired criminal justice professor at the University
of Alabama, told The Decatur Daily that it's "extraordinarily unusual
for people like this not to be allowed to remain free and given a
reporting date or an appeals bond.
He said it looks like Siegelman was rushed off to prison to ensure
that he would receive some punishment, even if his conviction was
overturned on appeal.
Asked by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals why he refused to
release Siegelman on Bond, Judge Fuller responded last month that
there was not a substantial likelihood that the conviction would be
reversed.
<link to source>
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Eleventh Circuit Court Order remanding the referenced appeal for further proceedings. <link to PDF document - 187 KB> |
| Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Michael Mukasey, the new U.S. Attorney General |