U.S. Supreme Court won't review Siegelman appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday declined to hear former Gov. Don Siegelman’s latest appeal of his 2006 conviction on bribery and obstruction of justice charges.

As is customary, the nation’s high court did not give a reason for the rejection Monday morning. Associate Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the decision.

Siegelman, governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003, sought a new trial, arguing that the court should have considered his defense team’s arguments over whether then-U.S. Attorney Leura Canary had honored a recusal. The governor also argued former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, who presided over Siegelman’s trial, miscalculated his sentence.

In an amicus brief filed in October, 116 former attorneys general from both parties supported Siegelman’s sentencing argument, saying Fuller improperly factored charges into the sentence that the jury did not convict the governor on.

Federal courts did not agree. In May, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Siegelman’s motion, saying they were bound by their 2013 ruling in the case of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, Siegelman’s co-defendant. Scrushy presented arguments similar to Siegelman’s in his appeal, but a three-judge panel wrote there was no evidence that Canary influenced the prosecution team, and said Fuller made no error in calculating the governor's sentence.

"The Supreme Court's decision today is not a loss to Don Siegelman--this appeal would not have exonerated him even if the Court had taken the case and ruled in his favor," Joseph Siegelman, the governor's son and one of his defense attorneys, said in a statement. "Don Siegelman believes a person should not serve time in prison for conduct a jury finds them innocent of. Astonishingly, America's highest court disagrees."

Siegelman and Scrushy were convicted on charges of bribery stemming from a $500,000 donation made by Scrushy to Siegelman’s 1999 campaign for a state lottery, in exchange for a seat on the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) board, which oversees hospital improvements and expansions. Siegelman was also convicted on a separate obstruction of justice charge. Prosecutors alleged he tried to hide a $9,200 payment for a motorcycle from a friend and supporter.

The former governor maintains his innocence and has claimed his prosecution was politically motivated.

Siegelman began his prison term in 2007, but was released in 2008 while an appeal went forward. An appeals court threw out two of his convictions but upheld the remainder. Siegelman was resentenced in 2012. He is incarcerated at a federal prison in Louisiana, with a scheduled release date of August 8, 2017.

The governor’s family said last month Siegelman was held in solitary confinement from mid-October through early December.

Updates at 9:40 p.m. with Joseph Siegelman comment.