Former Illinois governor charged with selling US president's Senate seat claims recent retrial was hampered by errors.
The former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, has asked a judge to grant him a third trial over charges he tried to sell or trade Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat after what he has alleged were errors and biases at his recent retrial.
In a 158-page motion, considered voluminous even by legal standards, Blagojevich's lawyers lambasted prosecutors and the presiding judge for a lack of evenhandedness. They argue that this led a jury to convict the former governor on 17 of 20 charges last month.
"It is a case of overwhelming bias against the defence in which the playing field was so unlevel that Blagojevich never stood a chance of a fair trial," read the motion.
Jurors found Blagojevich, 54, guilty of the majority of counts against him. These included fraud and attempted extortion for trying to sell or trade the Senate seat Obama relinquished on entering the White House in exchange for campaign donations or a high-paying job.
Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the US attorney's office, declined to comment on the motion. The US government could respond at a status hearing set for next week.
Post-trial motions by the defence are a common way to lay down arguments that legal teams can draw from when they appeal to a higher court. Blagojevich's lawyers had to ask for permission though, for the longer-than-usual filing.
The motion argues that the trial began going awry from the start as the judge, James Zagel, allowed jurors with heavy biases to stay in the jury pool. When there were objections during testimony Zagel almost invariably sided with prosecutors, according to the motion.
"There was a thumb on the scale of justice which resulted in the unconstitutional convictions in this case," the motion says. It also directly accuses Zagel, saying, "This court stacked the deck against Blagojevich."
No sentencing date for Blagojevich has been set. Most legal experts say Zagel is likely to sentence him to about ten years in prison for the recent convictions and his sole conviction at his first trial last year, for lying to the FBI. The initial trial ended in a deadlock, forcing the retrial.
In a 158-page motion, considered voluminous even by legal standards, Blagojevich's lawyers lambasted prosecutors and the presiding judge for a lack of evenhandedness. They argue that this led a jury to convict the former governor on 17 of 20 charges last month.
"It is a case of overwhelming bias against the defence in which the playing field was so unlevel that Blagojevich never stood a chance of a fair trial," read the motion.
Jurors found Blagojevich, 54, guilty of the majority of counts against him. These included fraud and attempted extortion for trying to sell or trade the Senate seat Obama relinquished on entering the White House in exchange for campaign donations or a high-paying job.
Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the US attorney's office, declined to comment on the motion. The US government could respond at a status hearing set for next week.
Post-trial motions by the defence are a common way to lay down arguments that legal teams can draw from when they appeal to a higher court. Blagojevich's lawyers had to ask for permission though, for the longer-than-usual filing.
The motion argues that the trial began going awry from the start as the judge, James Zagel, allowed jurors with heavy biases to stay in the jury pool. When there were objections during testimony Zagel almost invariably sided with prosecutors, according to the motion.
"There was a thumb on the scale of justice which resulted in the unconstitutional convictions in this case," the motion says. It also directly accuses Zagel, saying, "This court stacked the deck against Blagojevich."
No sentencing date for Blagojevich has been set. Most legal experts say Zagel is likely to sentence him to about ten years in prison for the recent convictions and his sole conviction at his first trial last year, for lying to the FBI. The initial trial ended in a deadlock, forcing the retrial.
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