LA Times: Two Charges Against State Senator Reinstated by Court

PolitiCal

On politics in the Golden State

Two charges against state senator reinstated

The Los Angeles Times, July 13. 2011

byPatrick McGreevy

 

An appeals court on Tuesday reinstated two felony counts in the voting-fraud case against state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood).

As a result, Wright once again faces all eight charges that were part of a grand jury indictment last September -- two counts of perjury, one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy and five counts of voting fraud. The indictment was issued after a lengthy investigation into whether Wright lied about where he lived when he ran successfully in 2008 for the 25th state Senate District.

A Superior Court judge in March had thrown out two counts of voting fraud, saying Wright could not be prosecuted in connection with the two elections he had voted in as an incumbent.

A three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal found Tuesday that the charges were properly filed, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

"The law is clear. These charges are valid charges and should face scrutiny by a jury,'' Gibbons said.
Winston Kevin McKesson, an attorney for Wright, said he will consider whether to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court.

"We are steadfast in our position that Senator Wright is absolutely not guilty," McKesson said.