CORRECTION: Madigan's request does not change the deadline for concealed carry to go into effect. It only gives her more time for an appeal. A previous version of this article said the deadline had been extended.
The U.S. Supreme Court granted Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request to extend the deadline for her to appeal a court ruling that requires the Illinois to allow carry. The court moved it to July 22. Madigan is still considering appealing the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that would require the state to enact a concealed carry law by July 9. Before the ruling, Illinois was that last state in the nation that did not allow some form of concealed carry.
Gov. Pat Quinn has yet to act on a concealed carry bill approved by lawmakers on the last day of spring session.
As state officials hash out the issue, state’s attorneys in at least five of Illinois' 102 counties — Madison, Peoria, Randolph, Tazewell and White — have said they will not prosecute people for carrying weapons as long as they are legal gun owners and not breaking any other laws.
Showing posts with label U.S. Supreme Court. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Supreme Court. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Ryan to remain behind bars
By Jamey Dunn
Former Gov. George Ryan lost his most recent bid for freedom despite pleas on his behalf from public figures and his ill wife.
Ryan’s case for throwing out some of his corruption convictions was based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed a category of fraud that requires public officials to provide "honest services" to the public and business executives to do the same for their shareholders.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling was made on the case of Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said that the Skilling ruling was based on a claim that the law was vague. However, she wrote in her ruling that Ryan knew his actions were illegal:
Ryan’s current challenge does not rest on vagueness grounds, and the court believes that, in the language of Skilling, Ryan clearly understood “what conduct was prohibited” and could not have been surprised that he was subject to prosecution. Ryan’s efforts to conceal his conduct from public scrutiny themselves demonstrate he knew it was improper. Indeed, long before George Ryan and his associates wrote this chapter in Illinois’s distressing history of public corruption, one of Ryan’s predecessors as Governor, Otto Kerner, was prosecuted under this same theory by an earlier United States Attorney.
According to Pallmeyer's ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling limited prosecutions under the honest services law to “bribery and kickback schemes — the very theory of prosecution under which Ryan was convicted.”
Ryan’s lawyers also argued that instructions given to the jurors in his case violated the new interpretation of the law. Pallmeyer agreed on two of the directions but found the instructions to be “harmless.”
Ryan’s lawyers say the former governor’s wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, who has been diagnosed with cancer, may only have three to six months to live. Pallmeyer’s ruling alluded to calls from Lura Lynn and public figures, such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, to allow Ryan to come home to his family:
This court takes no pleasure in depriving any defendant of his or her liberty. The court has had the painful duty to take such action in circumstances more compelling than these — where a young defendant with little education or resources is the sole support of small children, or is the only caregiver for a disabled relative, for example. Any sensitive judge realizes that a lengthy prison term effectively robs the convicted person of what we all value most: months and years with loved ones, some of whom will no longer be there when the sentence has been served. Mr. Ryan, like other convicted persons, undoubtedly wishes it were otherwise. His conduct has exacted a stiff penalty not only for himself but also for his family.
Ryan is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in a federal prison at Terre Haute, Ind., where he has been since November 2007. His lawyers plan to appeal Pallmeyer's ruling.
Former Gov. George Ryan lost his most recent bid for freedom despite pleas on his behalf from public figures and his ill wife.
Ryan’s case for throwing out some of his corruption convictions was based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed a category of fraud that requires public officials to provide "honest services" to the public and business executives to do the same for their shareholders.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling was made on the case of Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said that the Skilling ruling was based on a claim that the law was vague. However, she wrote in her ruling that Ryan knew his actions were illegal:
Ryan’s current challenge does not rest on vagueness grounds, and the court believes that, in the language of Skilling, Ryan clearly understood “what conduct was prohibited” and could not have been surprised that he was subject to prosecution. Ryan’s efforts to conceal his conduct from public scrutiny themselves demonstrate he knew it was improper. Indeed, long before George Ryan and his associates wrote this chapter in Illinois’s distressing history of public corruption, one of Ryan’s predecessors as Governor, Otto Kerner, was prosecuted under this same theory by an earlier United States Attorney.
According to Pallmeyer's ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling limited prosecutions under the honest services law to “bribery and kickback schemes — the very theory of prosecution under which Ryan was convicted.”
Ryan’s lawyers also argued that instructions given to the jurors in his case violated the new interpretation of the law. Pallmeyer agreed on two of the directions but found the instructions to be “harmless.”
Ryan’s lawyers say the former governor’s wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, who has been diagnosed with cancer, may only have three to six months to live. Pallmeyer’s ruling alluded to calls from Lura Lynn and public figures, such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, to allow Ryan to come home to his family:
This court takes no pleasure in depriving any defendant of his or her liberty. The court has had the painful duty to take such action in circumstances more compelling than these — where a young defendant with little education or resources is the sole support of small children, or is the only caregiver for a disabled relative, for example. Any sensitive judge realizes that a lengthy prison term effectively robs the convicted person of what we all value most: months and years with loved ones, some of whom will no longer be there when the sentence has been served. Mr. Ryan, like other convicted persons, undoubtedly wishes it were otherwise. His conduct has exacted a stiff penalty not only for himself but also for his family.
Ryan is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in a federal prison at Terre Haute, Ind., where he has been since November 2007. His lawyers plan to appeal Pallmeyer's ruling.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Ryan asks judge to reconsider charges
By Jamey Dunn
Former Gov. George Ryan is seeking to have some of the charges from his 2006 conviction on corruption thrown out based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling scaled back a category of fraud, which requires public officials to provide “honest services.” Prosecutors now have to prove that an official received a bribe, kickback or some financial benefit when failing to provide honest service to the public. Prior to the court’s decision, prosecutors often used the statute to go after officials and executives who engaged in corrupt acts, such as lying to shareholders or not disclosing a conflict of interest, even if it did not result in a tangible benefit for the accused.
The ruling would not apply to all of the former governor’s crimes, but Ryan’s lawyers claim it would apply to mail fraud and racketeering convictions. They have asked the judge who presided over his trial to consider tossing these charges. His lawyers say the time he has served would satisfy his sentence for the remaining charges of lying to the FBI and tax violations. They asked that he be released on bail while U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer considers their request.
The Illinois Supreme Court upheld Ryan’s conviction in 2008. He is serving his 6 1/2-year sentence in a federal prison at Terre Haute, Ind., where he has been since November 2007. He is due for release in 2013. His requests for a pardon from former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama proved unsuccessful.
Federal prosecutors tweaked some of the charges against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich shortly before his corruption trial to avoid the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on honest services having a possible impact on the case.
Former Gov. George Ryan is seeking to have some of the charges from his 2006 conviction on corruption thrown out based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling scaled back a category of fraud, which requires public officials to provide “honest services.” Prosecutors now have to prove that an official received a bribe, kickback or some financial benefit when failing to provide honest service to the public. Prior to the court’s decision, prosecutors often used the statute to go after officials and executives who engaged in corrupt acts, such as lying to shareholders or not disclosing a conflict of interest, even if it did not result in a tangible benefit for the accused.
The ruling would not apply to all of the former governor’s crimes, but Ryan’s lawyers claim it would apply to mail fraud and racketeering convictions. They have asked the judge who presided over his trial to consider tossing these charges. His lawyers say the time he has served would satisfy his sentence for the remaining charges of lying to the FBI and tax violations. They asked that he be released on bail while U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer considers their request.
The Illinois Supreme Court upheld Ryan’s conviction in 2008. He is serving his 6 1/2-year sentence in a federal prison at Terre Haute, Ind., where he has been since November 2007. He is due for release in 2013. His requests for a pardon from former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama proved unsuccessful.
Federal prosecutors tweaked some of the charges against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich shortly before his corruption trial to avoid the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on honest services having a possible impact on the case.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
