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Court overturns Silver conviction

Jul 14, 2017 12:04 am
Matthew Hamilton reports in the Albany Times Union that an appellate court overturned July 13 the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges. Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2016, but has remained free on bail. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Joon H. Kim said they will retry the Manhattan Democrat. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals cited a Supreme Court decision in the case of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, which narrowed the definition of bribery. The appellate judges said that instructions given to the jury were erroneous in light of that Supreme Court decision about McDonnell. "We further hold that this error was not harmless because it is not clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have reached the same conclusion if properly instructed, as is required by law for the verdict to stand," the decision read. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.