Prosecutors say judge wasn't asleep, Soderquists shouldn't get new trial
NWI Times
December 03, 2015 - 12:30 pm
HAMMOND | Federal prosecutors say they reviewed courtroom security video and found no reason former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and wife Deborah should be granted a new trial.
The Soderquists were convicted Sept. 11 of improperly using money from Keith Soderquist's campaign fund and the city's food pantry account to gamble.
They're seeking a new trial and have moved to disqualify U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano based on claims the judge fell asleep at least two times during their trial.
The U.S. attorney's office said in a recent court filing that Lozano appeared "less than completely attentive" during 2 to 2.5 minutes of their trial, which included dozens of hours of testimony and spanned seven days. Nothing in trial transcripts "supports an inference that the court was sleeping during trial," the filing says.
"The defendants fail to state with any specificity how they have been deprived of any due process right," the filing says. "For example, they do not claim that the alleged inattention of the court led to any erroneous ruling or allowed inadmissible evidence to be presented to the jury.
"Furthermore, the defendants fail to assert what the court should have done differently and how the claimed inattentiveness may have affected the outcome of this trial."
The Soderquists claim Lozano, when informed by the defense that he appeared to be asleep, responded he was not sleeping. The judge also denied the defendants' request for a mistrial.
The defense says the Lozano's actions show his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
The U.S. attorney's office says the Soderquists' motions are "totally unsupported by the record of this case."
Scott King, attorney for the Soderquists, on Wednesday filed a motion seeking to delay the couple's Dec. 15 sentencing for about 45 days.
Defense attorneys are preparing a reply to the government's filing that will include a request for an evidentiary hearing, the motion says.
King's ability to meet with the Soderquists have been compromised by Deborah Soderquist's health and King's schedule, the motion says.
Keith Soderquist was removed from the mayor's office after his conviction. He, his wife and his stepdaughter Miranda Brakley are now facing trial in a second, separate 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.
U.S. District Judge James Moody scheduled their trial in that case for Feb. 1.
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