Legal Commentary

Blagojevich Rests Without Calling Witnesses

By Jeralyn

I think Rod Blagojevich made the right call in taking his lead counsel's advice and deciding not to testify in his own defense.

"Sam Adam Sr.'s most compelling argument and ultimately the one that swayed me was that the government in their case proved my innocence," he said. "They proved I did nothing illegal and that there was nothing further for us to add."

"In the tapes that the government played, they proved as I said all along that I did nothing illegal,” the former governor continued. “In fact they proved that I sought the advice of my lawyers and my advisers. They proved that I was on the phone talking to them, brainstorming about ideas. Yes, they proved some of those ideas were stupid, but they also proved some of the ideas were good."

I discussed the pros and cons as I saw them here. [More...]

Had he testified and been convicted, and the judge thought he lied, he would face an obstruction of justice enhancement under the sentencing guidelines.

I frequently say our jails are filled with people who thought if they could only tell their side of the story, police and prosecutors would see it their way. Sometimes that applies to jurors who get to evaluate your statements as well. Defense lawyers are reluctant to have their clients take the stand for good reason. It's the exception not the rule when they do, and there's usually a specific reason for it. I didn't see one here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 21, 2010 (boomark / email).