By HOLBROOK MOHR
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — Former attorney Paul Minor is asking a federal court to release him from prison so he can care for his sick wife during appeals of a bribery conviction that he claims was politically motivated.
Minor, 62, built a national reputation and amassed a fortune by suing tobacco, asbestos and other companies. He was convicted in March 2007 of bribing two judges and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Minor is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans for a new trial. He accuses the federal government of selective prosecution, saying he was targeted by Republican prosecutors because of his large contributions to Democratic Party causes.
Minor’s bond request says the conviction likely will be overturned, but it may be too late for him to be at his wife’s side.
“This matter is of some urgency as Mr. Minor’s wife of 40 years is suffering from cancer that has spread through her brain, into both lungs, and her spine,” Minor’s attorneys argued in a motion dated July 1. “Her doctors do not expect her to live more than a few months.”
The government has until Monday to respond to Minor’s request for bond.
Laura E. Sweeney, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Wednesday: “With this appeal, Mr. Minor’s case is considered an ongoing matter, therefore the Department of Justice will continue to litigate this matter in the courts and not the media.”
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., who was indicted along with Minor in 2003 and acquitted, also says the charges were politically motivated.
“The Justice Department itself has basically admitted as much by launching an investigation into the case,” Diaz told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is exploring allegations of selective prosecution in several cases, including the Diaz case and the unrelated 2006 conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.
Diaz, who was a Republican when he served in the state Legislature and now holds a nonpartisan judgeship, was cleared of all charges at the end of a trail in 2006. Minor and the others were convicted during a retrial last year.
Minor claims the high-profile firings of nine U.S attorneys in 2006 contributed to his prosecution.
“Some U.S. attorneys, and that appears to include Dunn Lampton who prosecuted this case, it seems were able to remove themselves from the list of U.S. attorneys slated for firing by bringing cases, like this one, against prominent Democratic supporters,” Minor’s attorneys argue.
Lampton’s office said Tuesday that he recused himself from Minor’s case and will not comment.
Minor’s attorney, Abbe Lowell of Washington D.C., also argues that U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate made several errors during the trial “that ultimately resulted in an unlawful conviction and sentence.” Minor wants a different judge to preside over a retrial.
Prosecutors say Minor orchestrated a scheme in which he guaranteed loans for judges, then used cash and third parties to conceal the fact that he paid off the loans. Two former Harrison County judges - Wes Teel and John Whitfield - were convicted of giving Minor’s clients favorable rulings in exchange for the money.