Court Rejects Sam Riddle's Appeal
DETROIT (WWJ) - The Michigan State Court of Appeals has rejected Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle's appeal on his assault and weapons convictions.
Riddle claimed the convictions should be thrown out because of insufficient evidence and misconduct by the prosecutor. He's currently in prison for the firearm conviction as well as bribery and extortion charges in another case.
So, what was Riddle hoping for? WWJ asked legal analyst and Talkradio 1270 morning show host Charlie Langton.
"He appealed because he believes he was wrongfully convicted. So, because he's serving 37 months for a federal case, a different crime, the practical effect of having even the state case thrown out would be nothing," said Langton.
"But, nobody wants to be convicted of something they didn't so, and Sam Riddle believes that he didn't do anything wrong," he said.
The Appeals Court said the prosecutor repeatedly racking the shotgun during closing argument wasn't misconduct and noted that Riddle and his attorney did not object at the trial to the action.
The court concluded, "there is no basis to conclude that the prosecutor's action resulted in the conviction of an actually innocent defendant or seriously affected the fairness of the trial."
Langton said he believes Riddle does have a future when he gets out of prison.
"Hopefully he's reading up on things, keeping up on current events. And, knowing Sam Riddle, like I do, I think Sam Riddle will come out of prison with a lot of energy," said Langton. "I think there's a future for Sam Riddle, be it television, be it radio, who knows! But the world has not seen the last of Sam Riddle."
