Legal News

Detroit Mayor?s Fate Hanging in Balance as Scandal Unfolds

By Ashby Jones

While most of the nation’s political attention is focused on St. Paul this week, residents of southeastern Michigan are giving close watch to the situation unfolding with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was indicted earlier this year on felony perjury charges after text messages between him and his former chief of staff leaked out. The messages appeared to contradict testimony Kilpatrick had given in a trial last year that he and the chief of staff had not had an affair.

We’ll likely know a bit more after a court hearing that begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Negotiations are underway on a plea deal that could bring his resignation. Here are stories from the WSJ, the NYT and the Detroit Free-Press (known as the “Freep” to many in the Wolverine State).

The talks could see the 38-year-old two-term mayor plead guilty to some of the felony charges against him, according to a person familiar with the discussions. A key sticking point is whether Kilpatrick would have to spend time in jail, said the person, who described the discussions as wide-ranging and involving multiple parties.

An interesting side-note, for all those procedure junkies out there. On Friday, Kilpatrick’s lawyer, James Thomas, had asked the court to clarify the standard under which Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm would decide on Kilpatrick’s resignation — “sufficient evidence” for a “reasonable person” to be persuaded.

“Your Honor, I know what a preponderance of evidence is, I know what beyond a reasonable doubt is,” Thomas said. But, he continued later, “ ‘sufficient’ is too vague.”

However, the three-judge appellate panel dismissed Thomas’s objection.

Photo: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 03, 2008 (boomark / email).