Appeals Court Won't Delay Blagojevich Resentencing
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A federal appeals court has declined former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's request to delay his resentencing while he prepares to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Last month, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out five of Blagojevich's 18 convictions, and vacated his 14-year prison sentence, ordering a new sentencing hearing.
However, because the court upheld the remaining 13 convictions, it said the original 14-year sentence could still be considered fair, so his punishment could end up the same.
"It is not possible to call the 168 months unlawfully high for Blagojevich's crimes, but the district judge should consider on remand whether it is the most appropriate sentence," 7th Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote in that rulin.
On Friday, two days after the full 7th Circuit declined a rehearing of Blagojevich's appeal, his attorneys requested the appeals court stay his resentencing, while they prepare to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
That motion was denied Monday.
Blagojevich, 58, has been in prison in near Denver since March 2012, serving a 14-year prison term after two trials resulted in 18 corruption convictions, including allegations he tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat for personal gain.
While the federal appeals court tossed five of those convictions, it said the evidence against him is "overwhelming."
Though the appeals court also ordered a retrial on the five convictions it overturned, if the Supreme Court denies to hear the case, it's unlikely prosecutors will retry the former governor, and instead will choose to drop those charges, and proceed directly to a new sentencing hearing.
