Dull, odd day in Blagojevich trial ends in drama

Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. didn't even get to begin his closing argument, yet he provided almost all the drama in the Blagojevich corruption trial Monday.

Before Adam prepared in midafternoon to approach the jury, the most remarkable event of a slow-paced, soporific day occurred when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and wife Patti appeared in the courtroom with their children in tow. Then, as Adam was slated to begin his close, the jury was excused while Judge James Zagel sustained a prosecution objection preventing Adam from making an issue of the absence of Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine and other key figures as government witnesses.

"The jury has to decide based on evidence," Zagel ruled, "and the fact that someone wasn't called isn't evidence."

Adam raised objections, as the lack of testimony was expected to be a cornerstone of his closing to cast doubts on the government case against disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich and his fundraiser brother Robert Blagojevich.

"You will not argue it. You will argue evidence," Zagel insisted.

He said other legal jurisdictions might permit the tactic where if "the law's against you (and) the evidence is against you, then attack the opposing lawyer," but federal court and his courtroom do not.

"I can't follow your order," Adam said.

"You will follow that order," Zagel replied. "Because if you don't, you'll be in contempt of court."

Adam said his client, Rod Blagojevich, was on trial for his life, and "I'm willing to go to jail for this."

"It's not evidence, and if it's not evidence, you can't use it," Zagel maintained. "You're trying to introduce something that's not evidence."

He lectured Adam on his "profound misunderstanding of the legal rules" and said he had warned him Friday he would not allow that line of argument. He placed court in recess for the rest of the day, however, to give Adam time to "reformulate" his argument overnight or "designate another lawyer" to do the close.

"If my ruling is as erroneous as you think it is," he added, "you have other remedies," a clear reference to the appeal process after the case is decided.

Adam seemed thunderstruck and, after a while at the defense table as a sidebar went on, made a display of shaking hands with Blagojevich as if his involvement were over. He left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse without comment, except to say on the street, "We're going to sit down and figure out what's best, and we'll go from there."

Adam's end-of-the-day drama trumped an almost equally curious detail to start the day, as Rod and Patti Blagojevich suddenly showed up in court with daughters Annie, 14, and Amy, 7.

If that was meant to engage the jury's sympathies, it might not have had the desired effect. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner began his closing argument with Blagojevich's quote on the U.S. Senate appointment that "I've got this thing and it's effing golden," and the former governor fidgeted in his chair and cast a glance out the side of his eyes at his kids. Amy soon left the courtroom with her aunt, Democratic Chicago state Rep. Deb Mell. When she returned, she sat on her mother Patti's lap and turned her head away from the court proceedings looking over Patti's shoulder.

Niewoehner's close was painstakingly meticulous to the point where it seemed like watching cement dry - albeit for a pair of cement shoes - as he went through the 24 counts against the Blagojeviches, then laid out the requirements for each and stated how the government had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

After the air conditioning has been turned down all weekend, Monday is always the most sultry day in the courtroom and at the end of Niewoehner's three hours, the jury looked dazed.

Robert Blagojevich's defense attorney Michael Ettinger promised on the elevator ride upstairs after the lunch break, "They're not going to sleep through mine," yet he too bogged down at times over the course of almost two hours, He finished strong, however, insisting his client should be judged as "a person of honor, a person of character," and urged the jury to "filter what Robert says through who Robert is."

Adam or a replacement will give Rod Blagojevich's closing argument to start the day Tuesday, followed by the government's rebuttal by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar, lead prosecutor. The case will then be turned over to the jury following the judge's legal instructions.