Indictment of Sen. Stevens — An Interesting Tidbit

I suppose the charges brought against Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) aren't terribly interesting to most libertarians. Perhaps we get a bit of schadenfreude as one of the mighty fall, but shady dealings that edge into outright corruption are part and parcel of politics.

You're not going to see a lot of jaws dropping around the Cato Institute with the news of the Senator's indictment. And (if I may venture to speak for my colleagues) few of us think that if you just "cleaned up" the process, it would actually work.

But here's an interesting tidbit: The indefatigable David Carney of TechLawJournal has given some thought to why these particular charges were brought. His subscription newsletter has a summary of the case with a section called "DOJ Forum Shopping," which says, in part:

The 6th Amendment of the Constitution provides that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed."

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 18 provides that "Unless a statute or these rules permit otherwise, the government must prosecute an offense in a district where the offense was committed. The court must set the place of trial within the district with due regard for the convenience of the defendant and the witnesses, and the prompt administration of justice."

Stevens' house is in Alaska. The alleged home improvements, and all of the transactions alleged in the indictment, occurred in Alaska. Only the filing of the Senate Financial Disclosure Forms (SFDFs) are alleged to have taken place in District of Columbia. Thus, the §1001/SFDF offense is the only one that the DOJ can assert occurred in the District of Columbia.

Thus, the indictment alleges that Sen. Stevens violated §1001 "in the District of Columbia".

If the DOJ were to charge Sen. Stevens with bribery or tax evasion, then there would be no credible argument that the alleged crime occurred in the District of Columbia, and Sen. Stevens would be entitled to have the case moved to Alaska.

Carney does an extensive analysis of factors that would cause the Justice Department to want to keep the case out of Alaska, and he reports on the evasiveness of a DoJ official when queried why tax charges weren't brought, which would place the case to the Senator's home state.

Interesting stuff from a smart lawyer and reporter. Most political coverage is about the "horse race." David Carney law and technology coverage reveals the chess match.

(And he's ethical: Carney discloses that he is an ex-Alaskan who voted for Sen. Stevens in the 1984 Senate election. I'll do the same: I worked for Senator Stevens on the staff of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs for a short time in, I believe, 1996.)