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Blagojevich Defense Attorney Threatened With Contempt, Closing Argument Delayed

By Jeralyn

Photo from Chicago Sun Times (Jean Lachat).

Bump and Update: Sam Adams, Jr. didn't get to deliver his closing today. He got threatened with contempt instead, because he intended to refer to the witnesses the government didn't call, like Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine, President Obama, Rahm Emmanuel and more. Now the closings are in doubt. What a wasted opportunity. Why didn't he just start so the jury would not be left with the Government's words when they went home tonight?

Original Post

Blagojevich Closing Arguments to Continue Tuesday

Rod and Patti Blagojevich brought their daughters to court to hear closing arguments today.

Did former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich just catch a break? Closing arguments are running long, so the Judge has said Rod's lawyer can give half his closing today and finish tomorrow. [More...]

That means the last words the jury hears before going home today are those of Team Blago, not the Government. That can be an advantage.

Tomorrow the Government will get its final bite of the apple with a rebuttal closing. Then the instructions will be read, diverting their attention from closings. If just one juror goes home tonight, impressed by Sam Adams, Jr. reasoning, with all night to let it solidify, by tomorrow, that juror's mind could be made up. The jury's verdict must be unanimous.

Shorter version of the Government's closing today: Blago was in dire financial straits and "The law doesn't require you to be a successful crook, it just requires you to be a crook." The crime didn't have to be completed, there just had to be a substantial step towards it. "The governor of the state of Illinois cannot exchange taking some state action for some personal benefit like money or a campaign contribution. You do -- that's a bribe."

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 26, 2010 (boomark / email).