As expected, Nacchio to appeal conviction

Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Attorneys for former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio gave notice Friday of plans to appeal his insider-trading conviction and six-year prison sentence.

The notice was expected and is a standard part of the procedure before a formal appeal is filed with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Defense attorneys have provided a glimpse of their potential appellate arguments in previous filings and in arguments in court during Nacchio's July 27 sentencing.

They have argued jury instructions were flawed, prosecutors didn't prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, Nacchio didn't get to present his classified-information defense, and U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham prohibited key testimony from a defense expert.

Defense attorneys also have steadily maintained the trial should have been moved out of Denver because of "virulent" media coverage that tainted the jury pool. Legal experts say Nottingham was careful in his rulings.

Nottingham has been reversed only 14 times out of 108 appeals during his 17-year career as a federal judge, according to a review of his record by University of Denver professor John Holcomb. Holcomb found most of the issues in the reversals irrelevant to a possible Nacchio appeal.

Nottingham was in the spotlight this week on a different matter, when it was reported that his most recent marriage ended after his wife found more than $3,000 in receipts from a Denver strip club.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is believed to be in the process of designating a prison for Nacchio, who requested the minimum-security Schuylkill prison camp in central Pennsylvania. Nacchio also was fined $19 million and ordered to forfeit $52 million in connection with his illegal stock sales.

smithje@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5155