09282015 - News Article - Soderquists seek delay in second trial because of pending post-conviction motions

Soderquists seek delay in second trial because of pending post-conviction motions

NWI Times

September 28, 2015 - 8:15 pm

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/soderquists-seek-delay-in-second-trial-because-of-pending-post/article_d2e6aa76-7836-53c3-b8a3-03d93946a2dd.html

HAMMOND | Attorneys for former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife, Deborah, asked a judge Monday to recuse himself from their second criminal case and sought a delay in their upcoming trial.

A U.S. District Court jury found the Soderquists guilty Sept. 11 on several charges alleging they improperly used money from Keith Soderquist's campaign fund and the city's food pantry account to gamble.

The couple and the mayor's stepdaughter, Miranda Brakley, are scheduled to stand trial in November on separate charges. In that case, they are accused of knowing Brakley took at least $5,000 from the Lake Station City Court and helping to prevent her apprehension by police.

The Soderquists are seeking a new trial in the first case because they allege Judge Rudy Lozano was asleep during parts of the proceedings. Their attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial, a motion to inspect courtroom security video and a motion for disqualification of Lozano in that case.

The post-conviction motions are unlikely to be resolved before the scheduled trial in the second case involving Brakley, according to a court document filed by Scott King and Lakeisha Murdaugh, the Soderquists' attorneys. The timing in the two cases would subject Lozano's impartiality to reasonable question, the attorneys wrote.

The Soderquists also are seeking to delay their Nov. 9 trial on the charges of accessory after the fact and structuring financial transactions. Brakley in charged in that case with theft from programs receiving federal funds and false bankruptcy declaration.

The cases have been covered extensively by local media, and publicity regarding the resolution of the Soderquists' post-conviction motions is likely to occur near the start of their second trial, court documents say.

"This publicity could compromise the defendants' right to have a fair and impartial jury in this case," the Soderquists' attorneys wrote.

Brakley's attorney, Thomas Vanes, supports the Soderquists' latest motions, court documents say.