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Craig To Make Constitutional Argument
by The Associated Press
Posted: October 26, 2007 -
5:00 pm ET
(St. Paul, Minnesota) Idaho Sen. Larry Craig
will argue before an appeals court that Minnesota's disorderly conduct law is
unconstitutional as it applies to his conviction in a bathroom sex sting,
according to a new court filing.
This is the first time Craig's attorneys have
raised that issue. However, an earlier friend-of-the-court filing by the
American Civil Liberties Union argued that Craig's foot-tapping and hand gesture
under a stall divider at the Minneapolis airport are protected by the First
Amendment.
Craig has been trying to withdraw his August
guilty plea disorderly conduct. A judge turned him down earlier this month, and
now Craig is taking his request to the state Court of Appeals. The Republican at
one point said he would resign but now says he will finish his term, which ends
in January 2009.
Craig's legal arguments are previewed in a
"statement of the case" filed late Thursday. In addition to the
constitutional argument, it says the judge erred by not allowing Craig to
withdraw his plea, and that the judge who sentenced Craig to a fine and
probation never signed anything saying he accepted the guilty plea.
Craig was arrested in June by an undercover
police officer who said the senator moved his foot next to the officer's foot
and tapped it in a way that indicated he wanted sex. He was also accused of
sending a signal by swiping his hand under the divider between the stalls. Craig
said the officer misconstrued those motions.
Craig's attorneys are due to file formal briefs
on the matter by mid-December, and they asked to make an oral argument before
the appeals court judges in St. Paul. No hearing has been scheduled.
©365Gay.com 2007
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