Subject:  Fieger testifies he researched fed laws |
Author:
Chris
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Date Posted: 05/21/08 7:27pm
In reply to:
Diane
's message, "Fiegers' Trial Tomorrow ????" on 04/13/08 6:44pm
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Fieger testifies he researched fed laws
Experts say attorney may have taken stand in hope of winning acquittal.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- High-profile Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger told jurors at his criminal trial Tuesday that he carefully researched federal law before reimbursing his employees for political donations and was confident the transactions were legal.
Fieger, whose testimony is to resume this morning, spent nearly three hours on the witness stand in what legal observers see as a high-risk strategy to win acquittal on conspiracy, campaign finance and obstruction of justice charges.
Fieger, 57, and his law partner Ven Johnson, 46, were indicted in 2007 on conspiracy and illegal campaign contribution charges. They are accused of making more than $100,000 in illegal contributions to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards by reimbursing employees, employee relatives and law firm vendors.
The government ended its case Monday. Tuesday was the 16th day of testimony.
The key issue is whether Fieger and Johnson knowingly broke the law. For most crimes, such as robbery, a defendant's state of mind is irrelevant to guilt or innocence. But defendants must "knowingly and willfully" break the campaign finance laws Fieger is charged with, meaning jurors will acquit Fieger if they conclude he honestly believed what he did was legal.
Fieger, a former Democratic candidate for governor known for colorful comments and bombastic criticism of Michigan appellate judges, spoke mostly in muted tones and told jurors his reputation for arrogance is inaccurate.
"I don't feel like that inside," Fieger told famed Wyoming trial attorney Gerry Spence, who leads Fieger's defense team. "I feel as frightened and scared and afraid as everybody else." Projecting arrogance might be a way of covering his fears, he testified.
Fieger, who rose to prominence as the attorney for assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian in the 1990s and has since won scores of multimillion dollar personal injury verdicts, is likely to be the only defense witness.
"No court in history had ever said that reimbursement is a crime," Fieger told jurors. However, "I've got a target on me."
Federal law bans political donations by corporations, but Fieger testified his professional corporation, Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Johnson & Giroux PC, is not covered by the law because all the money in the corporation is his own.
Fieger described the evening in 2005 when about 80 FBI agents raided his law offices and visited the homes of employees, as his "worst nightmare."
"I knew that I was a target but I never thought that they would actually do this," he told the court.
Fieger said his father was a civil rights lawyer and his mother organized Michigan's first teacher strikes. He said he fights the powerful on behalf of underdogs and has gained powerful enemies in his 30-year career.
Detroit attorney Richard L. Steinberg, who has represented Fieger in the past, said he was surprised Fieger took the stand since it did not appear the government did a good job of prosecuting its case.
"It's the government's case to lose and it will probably be make-or-break on their ability to cross-examine Geoff," Steinberg said. Fieger's biggest problem will be controlling his temper, he said.
"Geoff has been able to repeatedly persuade juries and bring home cases that no other trial lawyers would take on," he said. "This is literally the biggest case of his career."
Wayne State University Law Professor Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor, said Fieger taking the stand is "a high-risk strategy and a high-rewards strategy because the jurors tend to focus on the defendant as the key witness.
"I have not heard of a case where the jury does not believe the defendant and still votes to acquit," Henning said.
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