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Politico: Formal Investiture for Kagan Today

By Leah Nylen

Tim Purdon (Vogel Law Firm)

The new U.S. Attorney for North Dakota will not handle appeals arising out of a high-profile federal death penalty case in his district, the Associated Press reported.

Timothy Purdon will recuse himself from the appeals of convicted murdered Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. because of the involvement of his former law firm, Vogel Law Firm, in the case. Rodriguez was convicted in 2006 of the murder of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. He was sentenced to death — the first death penalty sentence in North Dakota in more than 100 years.

Purdon declined to specify his connection to the case, according to the AP.

A lawyer from the firm represented Forum Communications, a newspaper publisher in North Dakota, in a lawsuit seeking access to tapes that were played at the Rodriguez trial.

Full post as published by Main Justice on October 01, 2010 (boomark / email).