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Ex-Gov. Ryan's conviction upheld

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Team Coverage

August 22, 2007 (WLS) -- Former Governor George Ryan gets to remain free while his lawyers fight for a new trial. The ruling by the federal appeals court came just hours after the same court upheld his fraud and racketeering convictions.

For awhile Tuesday, Ryan thought he might have to report to prison by Friday. Ryan's lawyers are expected to be in court Wednesday morning.

First there was a major defeat for George Ryan: the appellate court denied his request for a new trial. But that same court late Tuesday evening ruled in favor of his request to remain free during his next appeal. According to one expert, that could mean six to eight weeks or longer if they decide to hear the case.

Visitors were coming and going at the former governor's home in Kankakee Tuesday night, while he remained inside offering no reaction to the media, leaving that to close friend and former Governor Jim Thompson, who strongly believes George Ryan's conviction should be overturned.

"You can find no case in America where a trial judge was allowed to substitute jurors after eight days of deliberation," Thompson said.

That was the main argument, the late dismissals of two jurors, George Ryan's attorneys made to the court of appeals in asking for a new trial. And they found an ally in Judge Michael Kanne, who wrote a dissenting opinion, saying there were dysfunctional jury deliberations and "multiple errors regarding jury management generally and jury deliberation, when viewed collectively, were so corruptive that the verdicts cannot stand."

The other two appellate judges agreed that there were unusual problems with the jury. However, they ruled the former governor did get a fair trial. The lead prosecutor in the case, who has since left the US attorney's office, agrees.

"The majority found there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt, and most importantly, that Mr. Ryan got a fair trial, though not a perfect trial," said former federal prosecutor Patrick M. Collins.

Ryan's attorneys are now pinning their hopes on convincing the full panel of 11 appellate judges to consider their argument. In their emergency motion asking that Ryan be allowed to remain free on bond, they wrote, "This case presents significant issues on close questions of law on which the panel was sharply divided. A majority of the judges of this court sitting en banc could resolve these issues in the defendant's favor, and that would result in an order for a new trial."

Seventy-three-year-old George Ryan is facing a 6 1/2-year sentence in connection with the license for bribe scandal. His attorneys have argued that could amount to a death sentence for Ryan, who is said to be in failing health.

The prison bureau has yet to say, but it is considered likely Ryan would serve his time at the federal prison in Oxford, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin prison is only an hour from the site of the deadly 1994 crash that led to the federal investigation of Ryan. A truck slammed into a vehicle carrying the Willis family of Chicago. The fiery collision killed six Willis children.

The Willis family attorney, Joseph Power, learned that the trucker, Ricardo Guzman, obtained his commercial license by bribing employees of Ryan, then Illinois' secretary of state.

The Willises are not celebrating Ryan's likely imprisonment.

"It confirms the system does work. It is not a happy thing for us to see an older man go to jail. But it is the consequences of actions and decisions made in the past," said Scott Willis, whose six children died in the crash.

Scott Willis and his wife Janet are also waiting for an apology from Ryan. They say that's all it would take for them to forgive him.

Click here to see Chuck Goudie's 1998 I-Team report about the allegations of corruption and fraud at truck driver licensing facilities that eventually led to the conviction of George Ryan.

Juror reaction
Jury conduct was at the center of Ryan's appeal. ABC7 talked to two Ryan trial jurors Tuesday, the jury foreperson and one of the jurors who was dismissed.

Jury foreman Sonja Chambers said she learned about Tuesday's developments when ABC7's Cheryl Burton called her on her cell phone late Tuesday morning. She said justice will be served when Ryan goes to jail.

When former Governor George Ryan was found guilty last April, jury foreman Sonja Chambers spoke exclusively to ABC7 News. At that time she defended the work that she and her fellow jurors performed during the nearly seven months in the trial.

When ABC7 talked to her by phone Tuesday, she expressed this about the appellate courts actions: "Though you are never happy to see someone go to jail, we made our decision in the jury room, which was based on evidence that was overwhelming and not favorable to George Ryan," Chambers said.

The jury's personal lives and past records emerged as an important focus during the trial. Chambers says she understands Ryan's attorneys will do everything they can to get a new trial.

"They are only doing their job, Winston and Strom is powerful company. They are doing what they have to do to get their client off," said Chambers.

Evelyn Ezell was the lone holdout until she was dismissed from the jury eight days into deliberations for lying on her questionnaire. Her name appears 82 times in the appellate court's ruling.

Ezell says she believes that Ryan is going to jail not because he broke the law, but for his actions of generosity.

"The bottom line is he has been railroaded for pardoning blacks and other minorities," Ezell said.

But in Tuesday's majority ruling, Judge Michael Kanne wrote:

"We cannot find any basis in the record to conclude that the district court dismissed Ezell because of her view of the evidence or that the prosecution tricked the district court into dismissing Ezell for cause based on its belief about Ezell's view of the evidence. We have no doubt that the district court's reason for dismissing Ezell were genuine."

"I believe the decision was fair and justice has served itself," said Sonja Chambers.

Chambers says the jurors get together often but says they never talk about the case. Chambers says someday she would like to talk to Ryan and his attorneys. Chambers says, if there was an appeal, it would be an injustice

Analysis of Ryan decision

The majority opinion issued Tuesday also rejected the notion that deliberations were poisoned by the dismissals and unauthorized documents in the jury room.

"The fact that the trial may not have been picture perfect is, in itself, nothing unusual," said the opinion, written by written by Judge Diane Wood.

Judge Michael Kanne dissented, saying Ryan and businessman-lobbyist Warner, should get a new trial. Kanne called the concession that the trial wasn't picture perfect "a whopping understatement by any measure."

A message seeking comment was left at Warner's attorney's office.

The appeals court found in its majority opinion that "the high profile nature of these proceedings gave rise to some unusual problems with the jury, but we are satisfied that the court handled them acceptably."

Pallmeyer said at the time of the trial that some of her rulings were "difficult" or "close calls." But the two judges voting to affirm the convictions brushed aside those concerns.

"The impression that they give is that this is some kind of signal that the court knew it was wrong," the appeals decision said. "We draw no such inference."

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