One last chance for Ryan
Ex-Gov. George Ryan is down to his last prayer when it comes to avoiding prison Nov. 7.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit Wednesday refused to reconsider Ryan's motion for bond while he appeals his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The voluminous record here demonstrates that the appellants (Ryan and co-defendant Lawrence Warner) were guilty of the crimes with which they were charged. Although they would undoubtedly like to postpone the day of reckoning as long as they can, they have come to the end of the line as far as this court is concerned," wrote Judge Diane P. Wood in denying the motion.
Ryan's legal team promptly filed a 31-page motion with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting bond.
"If there is ever a case that warrants bail pending appeal … this is it," wrote Ryan's attorneys in the motion, which was signed by former Gov. James R. Thompson.
However, most experts say getting bond from the Supreme Court is nearly impossible.
Richard Kling, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and a practicing defense attorney said the last time he can remember someone being granted bond by the Supreme Court was in the mid-'60s.
Leonard Cavise, a law professor at DePaul University College of Law said he thinks Ryan may have a chance because the Supreme Court justice who will review the request is John Paul Stevens, Stevens is originally from Chicago. In addition, Ryan has appellate court Judge Richard Posner on his side.
Posner is nationally respected and sided with dissenting judges when Ryan's appeal was denied last week by the appellate court.
"I would not say it's an exercise in futility," said Cavise.
Ryan was convicted over a year ago of racketeering and fraud. A jury decided he had traded governmental contracts for favors and benefits for himself and his family.
But problems with the jury during the trial led the appellate court to rule Ryan could stay out on bond while they decided his appeal. Last week, they did so, deciding 6-3 to uphold the conviction.
Ryan is currently scheduled to report to a facility in Duluth, Minn., next Wednesday. His attorneys are trying to persuade the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to allow him to serve his time in Oxford, Wis., closer to Ryan's home in Kankakee.
The U.S. attorney's office and Ryan's attorneys did not comment Wednesday beyond what was filed in court documents. But the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Ryan did weigh in on the development.
"While I don't personally take any pleasure in George Ryan having to go to prison, … I do think it's important that the principles of the justice system be upheld," said Patrick Collins, now a private attorney with Perkins Coie LLP. "There's the hope that the sanction in this case will deter future (criminal) conduct."