Stevens seeks "change of venue" to Alaskahttp://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/Stevens_formally_seeks_change_of_venue_for_corruption_trial.html?showallAttorneys for indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) formally filed a motion today to move his upcoming corruption trial to Alaska, arguing that the "center of gravity" of the case is in Alaska, not Washington, D.C., where Stevens was charged.
Stevens was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Washington for failing to dislcose more than $250,000 in gifts that he had received from oil services company VECO Corp., as well as its former CEO Bill Allen, most notably extensive renovations on Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska. Stevens has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, and he asked for a speedy trial.
But if Stevens' legal team, led by Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly, pursues a lengthy legal battle over venue, it could drag his trial beyond Election Day. Stevens was first appointed to the Senate in 1968, and he is seeking re-election to a sixth full term as a senator.
Although Senator Stevens’s public representation requires him to spend time in both Alaska and the District of Columbia, he has been a legal resident of Alaska for more than fifty years. Presently, Senator Stevens is in the middle of a reelection campaign, and he is required to spend much of his time in his home state of Alaska," Stevens' attorneys wrote. "he Senate is currently in recess until September and intends to adjourn again in late September for the general election...This factor weighs heavily in favor of transfer."
They added: "Moreover, Senator Stevens’s residence in Alaska is the focus of the indictment.
The value of renovations to his Girdwood residence is central to both the government’s case and the Senator’s defense. To assist the jury in understanding these renovations, Senator Stevens intends to request that the Court permit a jury visit to his Girdwood residence – an option that obviously would not be convenient for a Washington, D.C. jury. Moreover, it makes little sense to hold this trial over 3,000 miles from the renovations (the value of which is clearly in dispute) that lie at the heart of this case."
The defense also points out that most of the potential witnesses in the case, both for the Justice Department and on Stevens' behalf, live in Alaska.
Another central argument in the 20-page motion is the fact that Stevens' trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 24, meaning it will take place during the middle of the Alaska Republican's re-election campaign. Moving the trial to Alaska would allow Stevens to campaign at night and on weekends, his lawyers argued.
"This Court agreed to an expedited trial schedule that gives the Senator the chance
to clear his name before voters go to the polls in the general election on November 4, 2008.
Unfortunately, no matter the outcome of this trial, this schedule alone may not be enough to
ensure that Senator Stevens has the ability to compete meaningfully in the upcoming election," the attorneys wrote.
"The Court has scheduled this trial to begin on September 24, 2008, with the government representing that it estimates that it will need three weeks to make its case. The defense estimates that it will need one week. The jury could be expected to get this case on or
about October 22, a mere two weeks before the general election. Senator Stevens must be able to campaign, albeit limitedly, during the trial. Were venue transferred to Alaska, Senator
Stevens would have the opportunity to campaign in the evenings and on weekends during the
trial."
Sullivan also revealed that Stevens will soon hire an Alaska-based attorney to help with the defense case.
