Jailing of ex-governor allowed
on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens at midday Tuesday refused to delay the imprisonment of former Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan, Sr., and his close associate, Lawrence E. Warner. They are due to report to federal prison officials on Wednesday.
In a brief order and without an opinion, Justice Stevens denied the application for bail that would have kept the two out of prison until the Supreme Court could act on their coming appeal. (Application 07A373, Warner and Ryan v. U.S.)Â The planned appeal, due to be filed by Jan. 23, will challenge their convictions following a six-month trial that they claim was plagued by juror misconduct and missteps by the trial judge and prosecutors.
Justice Stevens acted on his own, without referring the application to the other Justices. He had the authority to do so as the Circuit Justice for the Seventh Circuit.
Ryan has been sentenced to 78 months in prison, and Warner to 41 months after being convicted on all counts of a racketeering conspiracy and mail fraud. Ryan also was convicted of lying to the FBI, obstructing the IRS and filing false tax returns; Warner also was convicted on attempted extortion, money laundering, and financial crimes.
The fact that they must now report to prison does not mean that the Supreme Court necessarily would deny review of their appeal. The only issue before Justice Stevens was whether to provide bail pending action on that petition for review.
