WWTBAM Bored

I have a question that hit my non-legal brain last week, regarding the appeals for former Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia.

Without rehashing the entire case, I'll go through the aftermath. He appealed to the US 4th Circuit, and a three-judge panel unanimously upheld the conviction.

His lawyers then petitioned for the appeal to be appealed by the entire court (15 judges), and was rebuffed again.

And this is where I get puzzled. Eight judges outright turned this motion down. Seven recused themselves, citing "conflicts of interest."

My question is "why so many recusals?" (Before thinking the obvious political reasons, four of the recusers were nominated by a Republican president, the other three by a Democrat.)

Any ideas, folks?

SpacemanSpiff wrote:I have a question that hit my non-legal brain last week, regarding the appeals for former Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia.

Without rehashing the entire case, I'll go through the aftermath. He appealed to the US 4th Circuit, and a three-judge panel unanimously upheld the conviction.

His lawyers then petitioned for the appeal to be appealed by the entire court (15 judges), and was rebuffed again.

And this is where I get puzzled. Eight judges outright turned this motion down. Seven recused themselves, citing "conflicts of interest."

My question is "why so many recusals?" (Before thinking the obvious political reasons, four of the recusers were nominated by a Republican president, the other three by a Democrat.)

Any ideas, folks?

Best guess is a personal relationship with McDonnell, a family member, or a lawyer. --Bob

Part of the expectations of serving as Governor of the Commonwealth would be to attend a lot of social events, serve on various non-profit boards, mingle with the other elites in organizations like Rotary, etc. McDonnell had probably crossed paths with most members of the panel; it's up to each individual judge to draw the line here. To me, it doesn't necessarily imply anything nefarious.

bazodee wrote:Part of the expectations of serving as Governor of the Commonwealth would be to attend a lot of social events, serve on various non-profit boards, mingle with the other elites in organizations like Rotary, etc. McDonnell had probably crossed paths with most members of the panel; it's up to each individual judge to draw the line here. To me, it doesn't necessarily imply anything nefarious.

Didn't think of it as nefarious, just dang unusual. But these two comments make sense.

And basically, The Gov is 0-fer-everything in the appeals process. The next step is trying to keep him out of prison* pending an appeal to the US Supreme Court, who are unlikely to hear it.
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* The "staying out of prison" thing with Bob and his wife are because the sentences are relatively short -- two years for him, and one year and a day for her. If he went to prison awaiting an appeal that overturns the case, then he'd probably have served most of the sentence already.

SpacemanSpiff wrote:The next step is trying to keep him out of prison pending an appeal to the US Supreme Court, who are unlikely to hear it.

Well, the bail part is starting to play out. From today's paper:

Richmond Times Dispatch, Friday 14 Aug 2015 wrote:U.S. prosecutors oppose former Gov. Bob McDonnell's push to remain free on bail as he asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of his corruption convictions.

Quoting the ruling by the three-judge panel that upheld McDonnell's convictions, prosecutors write that the former governor "received a fair trial and was duly convicted by a jury of his fellow Virginians. [This Court had] no cause to undo what has been done."

"And neither will the Supreme Court. As such, defendant’s motion to stay this court’s mandate and grant defendant bail pending his petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court should be denied."

Looks like Gov. McDonnell is going to prison, unless Justice Roberts intervenes.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/g ... 2beaf.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vir ... story.html

Translation -- "We don't think the Supremes are going to hear your case. Stop wasting time and go to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect a Rolex."

BTW -- there's an interesting irony that's playing out here. The current administration (of the opposition party, but I think that just affect the timing of this) is working to cancel his state pension from his days as Governor and other gigs before with the state because he's been convicted of a felony. The irony is that was passed at the behest of, and signed by, Gov. McDonnell