Federal judge denies Soderquist request to delay second trial
Former Lake Station mayor's case to proceed
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 14, 2015
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/15877F99D99DE838?p=AWNB
A federal judge denied former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist's request to delay his next criminal trial.
"Except for exceptional circumstances, no continuances of the aforementioned deadlines or the trial date will be granted," U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in his order, issued Tuesday.
The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 9.
Attorneys for Soderquist had asked a federal judge to delay the trial, in which his stepdaughter, Miranda Brakley, is accused of stealing from the city and the former mayor and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, are accused of helping Brakley hide the crime.
The motion to delay was originally filed when U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano was overseeing the case. Lozano oversaw the Soderquists' first criminal trial in September, when a jury convicted them of using money from his campaign fund and the city's food pantry to pay for dozens of gambling trips.
Defense attorneys Scott King and Lakeisha Murdaugh have since filed a motion to vacate that conviction, however, arguing that Lozano fell asleep at least twice during the trial.
They argued in the motion to delay the second trial that Lozano should not oversee the case anymore because he could be considered a witness in the first case and because possible media coverage of the ongoing motion to vacate could affect jurors in the second case.
However, the second case has since been transferred to Moody, who said in his ruling Tuesday that the issue with Lozano is moot.
He also said that any potential media coverage during the second trial is just a hypothetical situation and that there's no indication as of now it will happen.
Moody also ordered both sides to file any motions, proposed jury questions and instructions and a list of witnesses by Oct. 27.
Former Lake Station mayor's case to proceed
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 14, 2015
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/15877F99D99DE838?p=AWNB
A federal judge denied former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist's request to delay his next criminal trial.
"Except for exceptional circumstances, no continuances of the aforementioned deadlines or the trial date will be granted," U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in his order, issued Tuesday.
The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 9.
Attorneys for Soderquist had asked a federal judge to delay the trial, in which his stepdaughter, Miranda Brakley, is accused of stealing from the city and the former mayor and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, are accused of helping Brakley hide the crime.
The motion to delay was originally filed when U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano was overseeing the case. Lozano oversaw the Soderquists' first criminal trial in September, when a jury convicted them of using money from his campaign fund and the city's food pantry to pay for dozens of gambling trips.
Defense attorneys Scott King and Lakeisha Murdaugh have since filed a motion to vacate that conviction, however, arguing that Lozano fell asleep at least twice during the trial.
They argued in the motion to delay the second trial that Lozano should not oversee the case anymore because he could be considered a witness in the first case and because possible media coverage of the ongoing motion to vacate could affect jurors in the second case.
However, the second case has since been transferred to Moody, who said in his ruling Tuesday that the issue with Lozano is moot.
He also said that any potential media coverage during the second trial is just a hypothetical situation and that there's no indication as of now it will happen.
Moody also ordered both sides to file any motions, proposed jury questions and instructions and a list of witnesses by Oct. 27.
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