Sen. Larry Craig Files Appeal

Idaho Republican Arrested In Sex Sting Vows He Will Finish Term In Senate

(AP)  Embattled Sen. Larry Craig asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday to overrule a county judge who refused to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with an arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting.

Craig's appeal was filed at the court in St. Paul less than two weeks after Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter refused to overturn the guilty plea, saying it "was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and ... supported by the evidence."

Craig, a Republican from Idaho, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August after he was accused of soliciting sex in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June.

The four-page filing did not detail the basis for the appeal.

In an interview on Sunday with KTVB-TV in Boise, Idaho, Craig repeated that he will not resign his post in the Senate and said he had the right to pursue his legal options.

"It is my right to do what I'm doing," said Craig. "I've already provided for Idaho certainty that Idaho needed - I'm not running for re-election. I'm no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights."

But legal experts have predicted that Craig would have a hard time winning on appeal.

"What's the likelihood of success? Even less likely of prevailing in the appeal than he had in prevailing before Porter," Steve Simon, a legal defense expert at the University of Minnesota Law School, said earlier this month.

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Click here to see Craig's motion to appeal (PDF)

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The appeals court must find there's been an "abuse of discretion" by the trial judge before overturning a ruling - in other words, that some aspect of the ruling was decided improperly. Ron Meshbesher, a longtime Minneapolis defense attorney, said earlier this month that the standard for an abuse of discretion is vague but that such a ruling is fairly rare.

"It's not frequent, let's put it that way," Meshbesher said. "It certainly is a steep hill to climb."

It would most likely be well into 2008 before the Court of Appeals rules on the case. The process by which both sides prepare their legal briefs alone usually stretches to more than 100 days.

A heavy caseload at the Court of Appeals has slowed down both the scheduling of oral arguments and the release of rulings, according to court spokesman John Kostouros. It has been taking at least three months after briefs are filed for arguments to be scheduled, he said, and at least another three months before a decision is reached.

Craig's Senate term ends at the end of 2008.

[walt1944-2009]

I intend to make the judicial system believe me when I say, "THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!"!

"HEY, MOE! HEY, LARRY! I DIDN''T DO IT! I''M A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE, YUK, YUK, YUK,"!

"FIRST YOU SAY YOU DO, AND THEN YOU DON''T!
THEN YOU SAY YOU WILL, AND THEN YOU WON''T!
YOU''RE UNDECIDED NOW, SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!".

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[abbe91]

This is old news already ... here are "fresh" ones ...

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071013/GPG0101/710130528/1207/GPGnews

[hwy71so]

How can you appeal an ADMISSION of guilt?

He needs to retire and leave the leadership role to a real leader. Someone with moral values.

[speakinup]

This is where all the liberals - who so ardently claim terrorists in Gitmo DESERVE their rights as non-citizens, make fun of a US citizen for exercising his rights.

So typical of the liberals.

The essence of the modern Democrat, polished to perfection by Hillary and Bill, is to insult 49% of the people if they think they can fool the other 51 %.

[simonsez40]

Throw the bum out of office - he admitted guilt and wasn''t going to tell his wife until the media blew the story. This is text book lying and then he got caught and is now trying to cover his acts of deceit. Again throw the bum out!

[simonsez40]

SPEAKINUP - you comment makes NO SENSE. We are talking about the most corrupt REPUBLICAN Administration in our modern times and you are muttering on about Democrats? Ridiculous - the Repugs need to own up to corruption and NO ETHICS in their party - own up to it and quit making stupid excuses..........another spin just like Rove and Bush taught the party how do to do wo WELL.......

Digusted in their lies.........

[simonsez40]

So Typical of Repugs to bang other men in the bathroom stalls...........lol!

[duhrer]

Hey speakinup and all you whiners on the unreasonable right... stop bellyaching. Since you went after Clinton with such indignant righteousness, to be fair, you should go after Craig the same way. Otherwise your comment about liberals and civil rights are ingenuous and paint you out to be hypocrits of the nth degree. Sure he''s innocent until proven guilty, but an admission of guilt in the eyes of the law, means he''s opted to pre-empt any jury and thus serves to indicate his guilt. All the little Rebugnicans are faling down and there''s nothing you can do to help them. All the dems have to do is stand back and watch.

[speakinup]

And I repeat for duhrer & simonsez0:

This is where all the liberals - who so ardently claim terrorists in Gitmo DESERVE their rights as non-citizens, make fun of a US citizen for exercising his rights.

So typical of the liberals.

The essence of the modern Democrat, polished to perfection by Hillary and Bill, is to insult 49% of the people if they think they can fool the other 51 %.

[antoniof123]

This is too funny no one cares except the GOP now it is there baby. The Dems don''t have to do anything just sit back and watch.

I can''t help but laugh for 6 of the 8 years Clinton was in office the GOP were on a witch hunt. They found nothing and I do mean nothing. But what they should have been doing was keeping an eye on themselves then they wouldn''t be in this spot.

Keep us laughing there still time till the 08'' elections. I betting they come up with at least another 8 scandles in that time.

[speakinup]

"But do I not have the right to make fun of him for being a hypocrite? Posted by rafterman1

So, did you even read the third paragraph of my post ?

You have the right. Having conceeded your right to make a fool of yourself, I now expect you to build an enormous elaborate ediface on top of it, to further distort the main point - a citizen exercising his rights.

[speakinup]

And if on appeal Craig is found to have been railraoded by the last liberal Judge, and found innocent...

What would you say, liberals ?

[tenielsen-2009]

stop saying crain is gulity,if you don''t go after bill clinton,for having ***,and not with his wife.i''ll be dammed.put bil in the white house again after he has ***.

[glossypan]

Thank you, Mr. Craig for your insistence on clearing your name. Your actions have been a wake up call for many good Americans. I hope you continue your fight even if it takes until November 04 2008. I think you should stand for reelection to your Senate seat. The Republican party deserves to have you as a Senator.

[extremophil]

He''s probably hoping for a hung jury.

[fairandbal]

stop saying crain is gulity,if you don''''t go after bill clinton,for having ***,and not with his wife.i''''ll be dammed.put bil in the white house again after he has ***.

Posted by tenielsen at 10:18 AM : Oct 15, 2007

Craig IS GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, because he PLEAD GUILTY!!!! Guilty IS as Guilty SAYS!!!!!

[fairandbal]

He''''s probably hoping for a hung jury.

Posted by Extremophil at 10:22 AM : Oct 15, 2007

He''s looking for a jury that likes to look ''under the bathroom stall'' for a better view of his case.

[mnelsonix]

Looks like Senator Craig is widening his stance on his innocence. He is a stubborn old non*gay. I wonder if he likes wet suits. I think he may be embracing the Iranian approache to non*gayness...Women are for children and men are for fun!

I love it when conservatism goes full cirle. Give it up Senator...become a dolphin saving, sushi eating liberal!

[ioweign]

And if on appeal Craig is found to have been railraoded by the last liberal Judge, and found innocent...

What would you say, liberals ?

Posted by speakinup at 10:15 AM : Oct 15, 2007

Liberal - where do you see that ??

The hearing will be before Judge Porter, rather than Judge Gary Larson, who had accepted Craig%u2019s guilty plea. Craig%u2019s lawyers, led by Billy Martin at Sutherland Asbill, have argued that Judge Larson erred in accepting it.

Judge Porter (Lawrence University %u201867, Minnesota Law %u201870) has served on the bench since 1980. He also has a masters in counseling psychology from St. Thomas.

Appointed by Governor Al Quie (R) to Municipal Court in 1980 and to District Court in 1982.
Elected in 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002.

In an amusing essay on Politico, Roger Simon handicaps whether the judge will allow Craig to withdraw his guilty plea. "In order to withdraw his guilty plea, Craig will have to persuade a judge that a senator of this great nation can be a complete doofus, too dimwitted to understand simple English and too brainless to find an attorney who does," Simon writes, adding, "Which means it ought to take a judge about five minutes to rule in Craig%u2019s favor."

[hwy71so]

He ADMITTED guilt.

See ya Mr. Craig. Take a hike.

[micma-2009]

Everyone''s favorite Republican family values senator who did not have gay *** in a public bathroom, Larry Craig, is back in the news. You may remember, he pleaded guilty to public indecency for playing footsie with an undercover cop in the men''s room in the Minneapolis airport. Well, not long after that, he decided he was not playing footsie and asked the judge if he could withdraw his guilty plea. Well, the judge said ''no.'' For some reason now, Senator Craig has decided not to resign. ... His fellow Republicans are not happy. They want him out of there. A lot of them stopped talking to him. Some of them have stopped having *** with him.

[micma-2009]

The airport bathroom where family values Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested is now being renovated, and the new bathroom will have stall dividers that go all the way down to the floor. When he heard about the new stall dividers, Senator Craig said, ''It doesn''t matter. Love will find a way.

[mnelsonix]

--stall dividers that go all the way down to the floor.-- at last! Some privacy while Mr. Winky says "hello" to a pair of tonsels. lol

[toldyouso21]

What an embarassing man. What a humiliation for Idaho and the Republican party. Not the fact that everyone now knows of Craig''s homosexual proclivities; but the fact that everyone else has seemed to accept and come to terms with it and he is still floundering and in denial.

Craig should move on. For the sake of his party and his state. He is ridiculed now--not for his bathroom stalling--but his stalling in stepping down. Right now, one thing is clear--Craig does not stick to his own words or promises and he does not know when the trail of *** leads us all back to his little tapping toes. Give it up Craig--or as they say--stick a fork in it--you are so done, you are beating a dead horse--and everyone else is tired of the stench and the flies.

[GRPDiver]

The saying "It is better to be caught with a dead prostitute in bed than a live boy" is really true. No one seems upset with the married senator from Lousiana for hiring prostitutes. So much for the liberal press.

[micma-2009]

Larry Craig has decided to stay on with fellow Republican Senator David Vitter and fight for family values. They are going to take that fight to Congress, to *********** and to bathroom stalls across this great nation.

[toldyouso21]

well, if the jury is really well hung--I guess Craig COULD get off......and the best part is, he could really bone up on his defense and the rules of law--so there would be no doubt that his oral skills are what really got him off...and convinced the hung jury of his skills---I mean, innocence--- too. lmao

[speakinup]

"===And if on appeal Craig is found to have been railraoded by the last liberal Judge, and found innocent===

"I love when a neocon calls the judge of any decision that goes against them as "liberal" and "activist". Hilarious. Posted by rafterman1

Bad news rafterman - you didn''t do your homework.

"Governor Goofy" (not my term, but Newsweek''s)Rudy Perpich appointed Judge Gary Larson (hmmm wonder if cows talk to this Gary Larson too.)

The really strange thing is, Rudy Perpich lost his 1986 gubernatorial general election to Arne Carlson in 1990 in a bizarre election that had Carlson replace the Independent-Republican Party''s candidate Jon Grunseth (who had beaten him in the primary election) just two weeks before the election after Grunseth was forced to withdraw amid allegations of a *** scandal.

Funny how *** scandals seem to revolve around this Governor!

Anyway, the good democratic Governor appointed Judge Gary Larson.

I think it is safe to say the Goofy Gov''s Judge is a liberal. Shall we go further ? Or, do you concede the point ?

[micma-2009]

The Democrats may control the House of Reps. but family values Republicans still have firm control of men''s rooms and *********** across this great land.

[stephengosson]

Whoa!!
Think about it!
You''re suddenly nailed for something you didn''t do and you decide to clam up about it??
Nah!!
Scary that one of our nation''s lawmakers is so negligent in defending his constitutional rights at the time of the charge and only now seeks to use those rights after he has botched every decision surrounding it.
No surprise to me why the GOP wants to distance itself from that thought-process and why the Democrats are laughing their heads off.
As for me? It''s just another Jerry Springer episode.

[micma-2009]

speakinup

It''s really sad that you are so blinded by your politics that you would try to blame Larry Craigs legal problems on the judge. Does a judge have to be a conservative Republican to hand down a fair legal decision in your reality? Why did Craig really plead guilty?

[speakinup]

IOWEIGN - you really are stupid, aren''t you. "Railraoded by the last liberal judge", would be in reference to none other than Judge Gary Larson - you know the idiot that tried to stop a potential truth from coming out, so he could reward his goofy party.

Check my previous post, IOWEIGN, and do the research correctly next time.

[bogusbones]

I wonder how many toes Sen. Craig has stepped on during his illustrious career in politics. Let him continue to fight because he''s going to end up in front of the Ethic Committee and they''re going to roast his @@@ in front of millions.

Most importantly I should have sought counsel. Didn''t they tell you to do that at the police station? Now you have rights? Spending your supporters campaign money to clear your name. No wonder politicians are looked upon with such skepticism.

Please leave - there are more important things going on besides your "good" name and legacy.

[neoconrcrazy]

at least Clinton had his oral *** in nice place.

why do republicans hang out at train stations, airports, and one-night cheap hotels ?

[hawksprings]

Maybe Sen. Craig could team up with Barney Frank...

[radiob-2009]

He was "under duress" when he plead guilty.

[radiob-2009]

Now his "back" is to the stall.

[hey_denise1]

TAP! TAP! TAP! Who is it? Larry Craig. Go ahead and resign. Even if you aren''t gay and it WAS a misunderstanding! You plead guilty to a disgusting crime (soliciting bathroom ***) by yourself. Your constiuency deserves better in their leader than a person who is the hot topic for Jay Leno, Letterman, and Conan''s nightly jokes!

[micma-2009]

Family values Republican restroom enthusiast Senator Larry Craig said today the only reason he plead guilty to that incident in the Minneapolis airport bathroom was because he was being hounded by reporters investigating rumors that he was gay. And what better way to shoot down those rumors, really.

[ioweign]

IOWEIGN - you really are stupid, aren''''t you. "Railraoded by the last liberal judge", would be in reference to none other than Judge Gary Larson - you know the idiot that tried to stop a potential truth from coming out, so he could reward his goofy party.

Check my previous post, IOWEIGN, and do the research correctly next time.

Posted by speakinup at 11:18 AM : Oct 15, 2007

All Judge Larson did was ACCEPT Sen. Larry Craig''s GUILTY PLEA. That constitutes railroading !!

Judge Porter ruled against overturning his guilty plea.

Judge Porter was appointed by Gov. Al Quie (R)

[ioweign]

Judge Porter - appointed by Al Quie (R)

Judge Larson - appointed by Rudy Perpich (DFL)


Judge Larson accepted Craig''s Guilty Plea

Judge Porter ruled NO to overturning Craig''s Guilty Plea



The hearing will be before Judge Porter, rather than Judge Gary Larson, who had accepted Craig%u2019s guilty plea. Craig%u2019s lawyers, led by Billy Martin at Sutherland Asbill, have argued that Judge Larson erred in accepting it.

[micma-2009]

Legal experts say that family values Republican SenatorLarry Craig will try to have his guilty plea overturned because he didn''t have an attorney present at the time. ... To prevent this from happening in the future, Craig now brings at least one attorney into each bathroom stall. You go girl!

[micma-2009]

Family values Republican Larry Craig having second thoughts about resigning. He''s changed his mind and he thinks he''s going to stay in the Senate, and that occurred to him after he saw the new batch of fall pages.

[micma-2009]

Family values Republican Senator Larry Craig has decided to stay on and turn over a new page. I believe his name is Ken.

[hawksprings]

IOWA = Gateway to Minnesota.

[ioweign]

IOWA = Gateway to Minnesota.

Posted by hawksprings at 11:48 AM : Oct 15, 2007

Your Location ??

[hawksprings]

What do you call 2 old tractors and a dead cow?















Iowa State Fair

[ioweign]

What do you call 2 old tractors and a dead cow?















Iowa State Fair

Posted by hawksprings at 11:52 AM : Oct 15, 2007

What do you call a pretty woman in Minnesota ??

















Visitor

[hawksprings]

Iowa: Just east of Omaha.

[ioweign]

C. Bluffs