Detroit mayor arraigned, allowed to travel to DNC
The Rocky
Published August 14, 2008 at 8:24 a.m.
Updated August 14, 2008 at 8:26 a.m.
Photo by Getty Images
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears before Judge Thomas Jackson for an emergency appeal hearing in Wayne County Circuit Court August 8 in Detroit, Michigan. The mayor was ordered to jail August 7th for violating the conditions of his bond.
A judge ruled today that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick can travel to the Democratic National Convention in Denver and can get rid of an electronic tether that had been ordered as part of his bond in his perjury case.
Kilpatrick and his former top aide were in Wayne County Circuit Court for an arraignment on perjury and other charges stemming from a text-messaging sex scandal. Not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf.
Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend raised the question about whether Kilpatrick should be allowed to travel later this month to the convention, where he is a superdelegate.
"I see absolutely no reason for that and it's silly," Townsend said of the travel restriction. But prosecutors objected to the judge's decision.
Kilpatrick spent a night in jail a week ago because he violated his bond by taking a quick business trip to Canada without notifying authorities. He was released Friday, with bond conditions imposed by another judge that included no travel and the tether.
Kilpatrick and former aide Christine Beatty were charged in March with conspiracy, perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, all tied to their testimony in a civil trial.
Sexually explicit text messages between the pair that the Detroit Free Press published in late January contradict their denial of an affair, a key point in the trial last year involving a former deputy police chief.
With the exception of the trip to Denver, Kilpatrick's travel still will be restricted to the Detroit area.
Assistant prosecutor Lisa Lindsey told the judge the ruling was "inherently unfair," saying the prosecutor's office and defense attorney James Thomas had an agreement that no requests would be made to change the bond.
"Two judges have already found he's violated conditions of his bond," she said.
Townsend said the court raised the issue, not defense attorneys.
"No one has been found guilty of anything," Townsend said.
"Let's not trash the Constitution." An appeal of the decision was expected from prosecutors, who left without commenting.
"This is the first time a judge has stood up for him," Thomas said after the hearing.
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August 14, 2008
8:47 a.m.
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Mayor_Quimby writes:
Another moral and ethical dumbocrat!! One less criminal coming here next week.
August 14, 2008
8:48 a.m.
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LoneTreeLady75 writes:
Read much Governor? It says he WILL be allowed to travel to Denver.
August 14, 2008
9:43 a.m.
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Milehighguy writes:
Another reason to vote for McCain - Kwame Kilpatrick! If I was Obama, I wouldn't want this guy in the same building or supporting me in any way.
August 14, 2008
10:03 a.m.
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Mike846 writes:
One of the reasons this guy is a Mayor is that everyone that is able to leave has left Detroit. That leaves his constituants: criminals, those on the dole, and indigents. Come on, people, we've seen this before, on both sides of the aisle. Probably a few more on the Democrat side just because they're so "inclusive". Hell, they want felons to be able to vote and illegal aliens to be able to vote, so why not have disbarred lawyers (see: Bill Clinton), indicted officials and various other scam artists there? Mike
August 14, 2008
10:09 a.m.
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danirobi writes:
Oh yay! More corruption heading to Denver during the Convention!
August 14, 2008
10:57 a.m.
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freespeech34 writes:
This is soooo.....democratic!
NO BO '08
August 14, 2008
11:35 a.m.
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Scott writes:
Ya know, with all of the criminals attending the circus inside of the Pepsi Center, maybe DPD should just use the Pepsi Center for their temporary jail instead of the warehouse!
Scott
August 14, 2008
12:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
FCZ writes:
Obama says Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is unwelcome in Denver.
Kilpatrick faces eight felony charges in a perjury case and two felony charges in an assault case.
http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080...
August 14, 2008
2:24 p.m.
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coarizona writes:
Isn't this getting exciting? Why would anyone want this crook showing up?
August 14, 2008
2:50 p.m.
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FCZ writes:
Detroit mayor's tether ordered off, then back on.
Hours after being told to remove his electronic tether by one judge Thursday, embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered by another judge to put it back on, a game of legal pingpong between his two separate criminal cases.
Kilpatrick also gained, then quickly lost, a break in travel restrictions that could have allowed him to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver this month. The point might have been moot anyway: The mayor is a superdelegate, but a spokesman for presumptive nominee Barack Obama said Kilpatrick isn't wanted there.
The day began when a judge overseeing Kilpatrick's arraignment on perjury and other charges said the mayor could get rid of the tether around his ankle and attend the convention.
By afternoon, however, another judge handling assault charges against the mayor signed an order emphasizing that the tether remains a condition of release in the assault case. It was back on the mayor's ankle nearly four hours after it was removed.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nati...
August 14, 2008
3:32 p.m.
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MileHighCritic writes:
Say what you will about the man but he has style, That is nice suit is wearing. He must be using the same consultants as the Teflon Don.
August 14, 2008
8:16 p.m.
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GetReal writes:
Just one more on Obama's thrown under the bus list.
How many is that now?