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Kwame Kilpatrick's Appeal Request To U.S. Supreme Court Denied

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A major legal defeat for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Kilpatrick's lawyer, who was seeking to have his 2013 conviction in a public corruption scandal overturned.

The court announced its decision not to review the case Monday.

WWJ legal analyst Charlie Langton says the high court only takes a handful of cases each year and this one didn't meet the standard.

"It doesn't set any precedent value to anywhere else in the United States - and that's what the Supreme Court has to look to," says Langton. " bottom-line here, Kwame Kilpatrick will do his 28 years in prison. The Supreme Court doesn't believe that there is any issue of merit to the entire country."

Kilpatrick's request was made after a federal appeals court said in October it had no interest in taking a second look at the case.

In 2013, Kilpatrick was found guilty of two dozen crimes, including tax evasion and bribery. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August affirmed the conviction.

Kilpatrick's appeal centered on an alleged conflict among his trial attorneys, among other very technical reasons. He quit office in another scandal in 2008 and is federal prison.

Kilpatrick is serving a 28-year federal prison sentence and is expected to be released in 2037. The Supreme Court also rejected a similar request from contractor Bobby Ferguson, who was sentenced to 21 years for his role in the scandal.

 

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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