11052015 - News Article - Prosecutors can't watch Soderquist trial videos alone

Prosecutors can't watch Soderquist trial videos alone

NWI Times
November 05, 2015 - 7:00 pm  

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/prosecutors-can-t-watch-soderquist-trial-videos-alone/article_65f43561-0201-5621-813f-e1d3d4c5b8a5.html

HAMMOND | The U.S. attorney's office will not be permitted to individually view recordings from the September trial of former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife, Deborah, federal court records show.

The Sodequists were convicted Sept. 11 of improperly using money from Soderquist's campaign fund and the city's food pantry account to gamble.

They're seeking a new trial based on claims U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano fell asleep during parts of their trial.

Lozano on Oct. 21 granted the couple's motion to inspect courtroom security video recordings from the Sept. 1 to 11 trial. However, he ordered the recordings be viewed only one time by defense and government attorneys at the U.S. Marshals Service office in Hammond.

Prosecutors had sought the individual viewing because Scott King, the Soderquists' attorney, was busy preparing for the couple's second trial — which had been set to start Nov. 9 — and likely would not be available until after that date.

U.S. District Judge James Moody on Tuesday rescheduled the second trial for Feb. 1. Moody was assigned to the Sodequists' second case after Lozano granted the couple's motion to recuse himself.

Lozano has not yet issued rulings in the first case on the Soderquists' motions for a new trial and to disqualify the judge.

Lozano on Tuesday ordered the U.S. attorney's office to file responses to the couple's pending motions by Nov. 24.

Keith Soderquist was removed from the mayor's office after his conviction in the first case. He, his wife and his stepdaughter Miranda Brakley are now facing trial on various charges in the second case.

Brakley is accused of embezzling more than $16,000 in bond money posted on behalf of individuals arrested in Lake Station from 2010 and 2012. She's also charged with failing to report $7,000 in payments she received for "compensatory time" she supposedly earned while working for the Lake Station City Court.

The Soderquists are each charged in the second case with being accessories after the fact to Brakley's alleged theft and structuring a financial transaction.