Edwards Sentencing delayed

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A federal judge Tuesday delayed former Gov. Edwin Edwards' sentencing on gambling corruption convictions and will use that day to hear arguments for a new trial after a U.S. Supreme Court decision cast doubt on some of the convictions.

If the convictions aren't overturned, U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola said a sentencing date would be set after the Dec. 6 hearing.

U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan, whose office prosecuted Edwards in two separate federal corruption trials this year, said he doesn't believe the entire case will be thrown out because of the Supreme Court ruling.

"We do not foresee a situation where there will be a retrial of the entire matter," he said Tuesday after speaking to a group of Southern University students. "I think our case stands up."

The ruling, which affected part of the 1997 conviction of New Orleans attorney Carl W. Cleveland, said the federal mail fraud law does not apply to state licenses that have been applied for, but not granted.

Prosecutors acknowledged that the ruling affected three mail fraud convictions in Edwards' casino racketeering trial and asked for new trials on those charges.

But Edwards, his son Stephen and their co-defendants said they deserve a new trial because federal prosecutors used faulty evidence to convict them. Defense attorneys said the Supreme Court decision nullified the theories and supporting evidence prosecutors used to prove their case.