* 12:25 pm - The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has denied an emergency motion by George Ryan’s attorneys to continue Ryan’s bail.
From the opinion…
The voluminous record here demonstrates that the appellants were guilty of the crimes with which they were charged. Although they would undoubtedly like to postpone the day of reckoning as long as they can, they have come to the end of the line as far as this court is concerned. Two different panels of this court have already decided that bail ends with the issuance of the mandate. Because we are affirming the district court’s judgment, the district court’s receipt of the mandate will not require that court to take any new action on the case. The motion to stay the mandate is therefore DENIED. By separate order, we also have denied the motion insofar as it seeks reconsideration of the decision to terminate bail with the issuance of the mandate.
* The opinion is here
* The order is here
* From the dissent by circuit judge Kanne…
The trial was riddled with errors that ultimately rendered the proceedings manifestly unfair and unjust, notwithstanding the production of overwhelming incriminating evidence against the appellants. Therefore, because the trial was “broken beyond repair,” there is good cause for a stay and the appellants have a reasonable probability of succeeding on the merits.
* 1:42 pm - From the AP…
Trial Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer has said Ryan and Warner must report to prison Nov. 7. They now are expected to appeal for bond to Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court justice who oversees matters originating in the Chicago-based 7th Circuit.
* 2:25 pm - Another update from the AP…
Ryan’s attorney, former Gov. James R. Thompson, said he was preparing to ask Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to grant bond to Ryan while he takes his case to the nation’s highest court.
“We’ll probably do it within the hour,” Thompson said Wednesday afternoon, though he acknowledged it would be extremely unusual for the high court to grant an appeal bond.
“It hasn’t happened for the last 35 years, I don’t believe, but I’ve never seen a stronger case,” Thompson said.