In an order Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick directed the Federal Defender's office to come up with a lawyer to represent Kohring as he appeals his conviction on corruption charges. Federal Defender Rich Curtner said in an e-mail message Thursday that he hoped to name someone by today.
Whoever it is, the new attorney will have until Nov. 23 to propose a deadline for filing a long-delayed motion on how Sedwick should deal with one of the big issues in Kohring's case -- the failure of the government to provide favorable evidence prior to his 2007 trial.
When Kohring and former House Speaker Pete Kott were released from prison in June to pursue their appeals, their two cases were in sync. Since then, Kott has filed his motion seeking dismissal of charges, the government has responded by arguing his verdict should stand, and Kott has replied that the judge should at least hold an evidentiary hearing to take testimony on the issue. They'll have oral arguments Nov. 17.
Kohring, meanwhile, has said nothing, other than filing suit in state court last month against the attorney preparing his appeal, John Henry Browne, over an accident just before his trial. The crash occurred after Browne drove through a stop sign in a rented car with Kohring in the passenger seat.
Curtner said in a motion filed Tuesday that Kohring had been unable to find a new attorney on his own and had filed financial paperwork showing he couldn't afford to pay for one. Though the Federal Defender's office was created for those situations, Curtner said in his motion that a conflict prevented it from representing Kohring. He didn't elaborate in the motion and said in the e-mail he couldn't disclose the issue.
Find Richard Mauer online at adn.com/contact/rmauer or call 257-4345.
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