CHICAGO (CBS) ― A federal judge has refused to postpone deposed Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel says the trial must go ahead with its June 3 start.
Zagel dismissed complaints from Blagojevich’s defense attorneys that they have too much work to do to get ready on time. They’d also cited the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court might find some of the charges in the indictment unconstitutional. The high court is considering related cases now.
The defense attorneys had lobbied for a Nov. 3 trial, but prosecutors countered that there’s plenty of time to get ready before June.
Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other charges that include allegations he schemed to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.
A summer trial for Blagojevich will put him firmly in the spotlight in the months leading up to the election and provided ample fodder for attack ads against any politicians mentioned in the Blagojevich trial.
The request for a delay followed the filing of amended charges by federal prosecutors against the former governor. At the time, Blagojevich’s attorneys said they did not think the new charges would delay his trial.
But this was the second time they asked and were denied a postponement of the June trial, citing the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court would throw out a federal statute on which some of the charges are based.
The Supreme Court is weighing the so-called honest services fraud law that figures heavily in the Blagojevich indictment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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