News

Pretrial wrangling in lawmaker bribery case

Posted June 28, 2012 2:42 pm

Associated Press

Pretrial wrangling continues in the case of an Illinois state lawmaker charged with bribery.

At a status hearing Thursday in Chicago, an attorney for state Rep. Derrick Smith said federal prosecutors have not handed over all evidence and other case materials to the defense. Government representatives disagreed.

Smith was arrested in March. He’s accused of accepting a $7,000 bribe during an FBI sting in exchange for helping what he thought was a day care center obtain a state grant.

Smith has pleaded not guilty and is refusing calls from fellow Democrats to resign from the House.

The judge gave defense attorney Victor Henderson until July 26 to file further pretrial motions. The next status hearing was set for Aug. 16.

If convicted, Smith could get up to 10 years in prison.

Article Comments

Article Categories
Chicago Crime Illinois News Politics Region

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.