Subject:  Federal jury acquits Fieger, partner on all charges |
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Date Posted: 06/ 2/08 5:03pm
Monday, June 2, 2008
Federal jury acquits Fieger, partner on all charges
Paul Egan and Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
DETROIT --There was a joyous mob scene outside the federal courthouse in Detroit Monday as high-profile attorney Geoffrey Fieger and his celebrity attorney Gerry Spence embraced jurors who acquitted Fieger and his law partner Ven Johnson of all charges after four days of deliberation.
That scene contrasted sharply with the mood of federal prosecutors, who left U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman's courtroom after being handed a major defeat in a high-profile case. "We're very disappointed," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Helland.
Fieger, 57, and Johnson, 46, were indicted last year on conspiracy and illegal campaign contribution charges, accused of illegally reimbursing more than $100,000 in political donations made by employees, employee relatives and law firm vendors to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards. Fieger was also charged with obstruction of justice, a 10-year felony.
After more than 18 hours of deliberation spanning four days, jury foreman Scott Duquette, a Macomb County auto technician, stood in a packed courtroom and pronounced "not guilty" verdicts on all 10 counts.
"I hope this will put an end to political prosecutions in the age of Mr. Bush," Fieger said, referring to the U.S. President whose administration he accused of targeting him.
The key issue in the case was whether Fieger and Johnson knowingly broke the law. Fieger took the stand in his own defense, telling jurors he carefully researched the law and concluded the reimbursements were legal.
"I was scared to death," Fieger said. "It would have been the end and I would have gone to prison."
Initially, prosecutors alleged Fieger's firm illegally reimbursed Edwards donations totaling $127,000, a figure that was adjusted downward to $113,000 at the end of the trial.
Jurors said they decided to acquit Johnson on Wednesday, during the first day of deliberations, and eventually reached a unanimous decision that the government never proved a case against Fieger, either.
"I didn't see much evidence," said juror Krista First, who commuted back and forth from Adrian during the trial that began April 24. Jurors deliberated more than 18 hours over four days.
Fieger, a 1998 Democratic candidate for governor who rose to prominence in the 1990s representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, alleges he was the victim of a Republican witch hunt. A conviction could have ended his highly successful legal career.
Helland denied after the verdict the prosecution was politically motivated.
"This was not in the least a politically motivated prosecution," Helland said. "The case was handled from the beginning by line level attorneys working with line level discretion and established guidelines."
Spence, 79, the legendary Wyoming attorney who announced during his closing argument that the Fieger case would be his last, hugged jurors outside the courthouse, telling Duquette that he was the one juror Spence did not feel he could get a read on which way he was leaning.
"I knew this jury would never convict," Spence said after the verdict. "They were a good, solid American jury and the evidence wasn't there."
Spence, who has written several books on criminal defense, defended former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos, Idaho separatist Randy Weaver in the Ruby Ridge case, and the family of corporate whistle-blower Karen Silkwood.
Spence boasts he has never lost a criminal case and it appears he will now retire with his record intact.
You can reach Paul Egan at (313) 222-2069 or pegan@detnews.com.
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