Permission to Attend Convention at Issue
By Holly Watt
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, August 15, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick rode another legal roller coaster yesterday as he was granted permission by one judge to travel to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, only to have another rescind the privilege hours later. The judge in the morning removed Kilpatrick's electronic tether. The judge in the afternoon ordered it back on.
The judicial back-and-forth occurred because the mayor is facing criminal charges from both the Michigan attorney general's office and the Wayne County prosecutor.
In the morning, Judge Leonard Townsend, who is hearing eight felony charges brought by the Wayne County prosecutor, loosened the mayor's bail conditions to allow him to attend the convention Aug. 25-28.
By 1 p.m., however, Judge Ronald Giles of the 36th District Court agreed to a request from Attorney General Mike Cox's legal counsel to reinstate both the travel ban and the electronic tether worn by the mayor. Giles will hold another hearing today at 9 a.m. over these charges, which relate to the alleged assault of two police officers when they tried to serve a subpoena in July.
The mayor's spokeswoman, Judy Smith, was unable to say whether the mayor, who is a superdelegate, hopes to attend the convention after the hearing tomorrow. She released a statement from the mayor saying: "The nomination of Senator Obama at the Democratic National Convention will be a historic event, however, I'm focused on running the city and I don't want anything to distract from that extraordinary moment. The focus should remain on uniting the party and leading our great nation in a different direction."
A series of controversies has marred Kilpatrick's administration since he was elected in 2001. The eight felony charges brought by the Wayne County prosecutor range from conspiracy to perjury to misconduct in office. They follow a whistleblower lawsuit brought by two police officers, who said they were fired after investigating the mayor's behavior.
During that case last year, which was settled for $8.4 million, Kilpatrick denied an affair with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. The existence of thousands of text messages -- many sexually explicit -- between the mayor and Beatty was subsequently revealed by the Detroit Free Press, contradicting the assertions made to the jury.
Maria Miller, assistant Wayne County prosecutor, said that the office had filed an emergency appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals to overrule Leonard's decision.
On Sept. 3, Kilpatrick faces a hearing before Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D), after a request from the Detroit City Council that she remove him on grounds of misconduct.
On Wednesday, in a further twist, Kilpatrick's attorney wrote to Granholm suggesting that one option would be a gubernatorial pardon, but yesterday Kelly Keenan, the governor's legal counsel, firmly rejected that possibility. "The Governor also indicates that she does not believe the charges or circumstances here merit the use of the pardon power," she wrote.
The mayor also spent a night in jail last week after violating his bail conditions by traveling to Canada.
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