Disgraced and oddly chatty former governor Rod Blagojevich continues to push his luck with regard to federal corruption charges. His defense attorneys are asking for a delay (Tribune) in his trial from June to September, not because of another self-parodying stage cameo (Tribune) or reality television (Huffington Post) appearance but in light of a pending trio of US Supreme Court decisions.
The issue at hand is the "honest services" provision of the federal mail fraud statute under which Illinois' gubernatorial superstar has been charged. According to the motion, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, a trio of cases deciding the fate of the honest services provision are before the High Court.
So what is the "honest services" provision, you ask?
A provision extensively used by federal prosecutors to pin corruption charges on elected officials and other public figures (including Enron's Jeffrey Skilling), it essentially criminalizes any conduct by public officials that violates the "honest services" owed to the public by virtue of their oath of office.
Without getting into the nitty-gritty, Blagojevich's lawyers say the Supreme Court honest services provision cases could affect his defense, so they what a stay pending judgment in the cases.
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Article about the Supreme Court cases (New York Times)
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Blog entry about the Supreme Court cases (Wall St. Journal)
- Directory of Chicago criminal defense lawyers (FindLaw)
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