Lazaro Aleman: Greene Publishing, Inc.
A federal judge recently denied motions calling for either the acquittal of, or the granting of a new trial for, former District 5 Congresswoman Corrine Brown, in effect setting the stage for her to be sentenced on Nov. 16 for 18 counts of fraud.
Federal Judge Timothy Corrigan ruled on Wednesday, Aug. 16, that Brown was neither entitled to a new trial nor acquittal on her jury conviction, notwithstanding the arguments of her defense attorney, James Smith.
Smith argued before Corrigan that his client had not received a fair trial earlier in the year because one of the jurors had been dismissed after confiding to another juror that the Holy Spirit had revealed to him Brown’s innocence. Smith further argued that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Brown had orchestrated a charity scheme to defraud donors.
The judge disagreed with both arguments. The dismissal of a juror was not an action that he undertook lightly, the judge said. “Quite the opposite,” Corrigan wrote in his 27-page decision, underscoring that he had dismissed the particular juror “only after finding beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no substantial possibility he could base his decision on the Court’s instructions and the evidence adduced at trial.”
As for the acquittal motion, Corrigan wrote, “This case was tried from April 24 to May 8, 2017, with both sides getting a full opportunity to present their evidence and arguments. Suffice it to say there was more than sufficient evidence to justify the jury’s verdict on each count of conviction.”
A jury convicted the 24-year veteran Congresswoman of 18 of 22 corruption charges on May 11, 2017. Those charges, which ranged from mail fraud to false federal tax return, stemmed from Brown’s involvement in a bogus education charity that was represented to provide youths with scholarships.
According to trial testimony, the charity collected more than $800,000 in donations, of which more than $300,000 went to finance events that benefited Brown or for her personal use. Brown represented District 5, which includes the northern portion of Jefferson County and all of Madison County, as well as all of Baker, Gadsden and Hamilton counties and portions of Columbia, Duval and Leon counties.
Congressman Al Lawson is currently the District 5 representative.