Rod Blagojevich Drama Continues

 The appeal of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s conviction and 14-year prison sentence has entered its final stage. Blagojevich was convicted of misusing his powers as Governor of Illinois in 2011 and believed to be committing “pay to play” schemes, including selling Barack Obama’s Senate seat after the 2008 presidential election.

 On July 13^th, 2013, Blagojevich filed an appeal with the 7^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. The appeal cites a judicial predisposition and jury bias. Blagojevich will have to convince the court that his convictions were unfitting and that the trial could have had a different outcome.

 The former Governor of Illinois was tried twice, in which the first trial had the jury hung on 23 counts and a conviction for one charge: lying to the FBI. In his book “Spinning the Law”, Kendall Coffey discussesBlagojevich’s first trial where a juror was quoted saying that “he was just talking” during his testimony and creating a new “blabbermouth” defense.

 In the book, Kendall Coffey states, “…the reality remained that by arresting Blagojevich before his wheeling and dealing reached actual stealing, prosecutors left some room for him to claim he may have neared the line of crime but never crossed it.”

 “Unless a ‘smoking gun’ shows stealing, it’s harder to convict for wheeling and dealing,” is Kendall Coffey’s spinning lesson for Blagojevich’s first trial.

Flickr CC via The Rachel Maddow Show

 In June 2011, Blagojevich was re-tried where he was found guilty of 17 remaining charges and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

 Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002 after serving on the U.S. House of Representatives for Chicago. Blagojevich has been incarcerated since March 2012 at a low-security prison in Denver. If his appeal is not granted, he will remain in prison until 2024.

Kendall Coffey on Internet and the Law

Flickr CC via Catspyjamasnz

A Federal appeals court ruled this week that a "Like" on Facebook is protected by the First Amendment.  After a group of employees were fired for supporting their boss' political opponent on Facebook, one of them filed suit. The first court ruled that a like action on social media was not sufficient enough to be considered free speech.

However, an appeals court overturned it.  First amendment freedoms online have been debated since their inception, and as more users participate in social media and Facebook becomes a more powerful company, it seems that the first amendment will rule in Internet user favor.  The case was brought forth originally in 2009, and the Internet landscape has changed significantly in the last four years.

When in comes to threats of violence, posts are also being taken more seriously.  Earlier this year a new law in Florida began allowing prosecutors to charge people for making threats online.  Judges in Florida determined that Facebook’s purpose is a form of communication and should be treated the same as verbal threats or notes.  In the case in Florida, the threat was not directly sent, which is why the defense protested.

Kendall Coffey has written about the use of social media in his book, Spinning the Law.  He calls internet interactions and misinformation “e-contamination” and can often make for sticky legal situations.  Everything from juror information spilling to online bullying has created a gray area for courts.  Sometimes online interference causes a case to be lost, but it is still far from definitive.