Federal judge sets Blagojevich trial for June 2010 News
Federal judge sets Blagojevich trial for June 2010

[JURIST] A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website] on Thursday set the corruption trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich [JURIST news archive] for June 3, 2010. Lawyers for two aids indicted with Blagojevich [JURIST report], Alonzo Monk and John Harris, indicated that their clients may agree to plea deals [Chicago Tribune report]. Blagojevich's attorneys said they expect the aids to testify [Chicago Sun-Times report] against the former governor. There will be a general status hearing July 22.

In April, Blagojevich pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to 16 felony counts, including wire fraud, attempted extortion, racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, and making false statements. In January, the Illinois State Senate voted unanimously [JURIST report] to convict Blagojevich of abuse of power and remove him from office. Blagojevich is the first Illinois governor to be impeached and removed from office. Blagojevich had boycotted [JURIST report] the impeachment proceedings against him, appearing only at the end of the Senate hearings to make a final plea to remain in office. Blagojevich and Harris were initially arrested [JURIST report] in December.

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