Earle prepares for trial

After yesterday's CCA ruling refusing for the final time to reinstate the conspiracy indictment against Tom DeLay, Travis County DA Ronnie Earle says he's ready to go to trial.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle said Wednesday that his office is ready to go to trial on remaining charges against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay after the state's highest criminal court upheld its earlier dismissal of a separate charge.

"We're preparing for trial," Earle said.

But Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin, who represents DeLay, said he doesn't expect any trial until another Texas appeals court rules on a case involving accused co-conspirators John Colyandro and Jim Ellis.

DeGuerin said Colyandro and Ellis' case, which was argued to a panel of Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals more than a year ago, "has to do with the balance of the case" against DeLay.

Although DeLay is not directly involved in the case pending at the Austin appeals court, the outcome is likely to affect charges of money-laundering and conspiracy to launder money.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the still-pending appeal of Ellis and Colyandro's claim that checks aren't cash. Far as I can tell, the most recent appeal was made to the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin last August. That's a hell of a wait for a ruling, if you ask me. In any event, in this case it's the defendants who are appealing, hoping to get their indictments tossed. Should that happen, I'd agree that it would moot the case against DeLay. I can't imagine how that could happen in a sane universe, but then I'd never argue that we're actually in a sane universe. I have no idea when we might expect the 3rd Court to get off their robes and issue an opinion, so who knows when the trial might take place. In the meantime, we can continue to contemplate the whereabouts and current demeanor of the forgotten indicted accomplice, Warren RoBold. Stay tuned.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on September 27, 2007 to Scandalized!