Conrad Black must remain in the U.S.
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 02:08 PM EDT
CHICAGO — Conrad Black could “possibly” leave prison in Florida later today, after a U.S. District Court in Chicago set a US$2-million unsecured bond and ordered that the Lord remain in the continental United States.
Miguel Estrada, Lord Black’s lawyer, indicated his client — who is being held at the Coleman Correctional Facility in Florida — could be in Chicago as early as Friday or Monday, although returning to Canada had been the media baron’s top choice.
“His home and his abode are in Toronto,” Mr. Estrada told Judge Amy St. Eve in Courtroom 1241, adding that Lord Black’s passport is “either at home or in the Palm Beach house.”
Later this morning, bail is expected to be guaranteed by Roger Hertog, described as a “friend” of Lord Black’s. Judge St. Eve will set final conditions at that time.
Judge St. Eve has said Lord Black should only be given back his passport if it is his only form of identification. His UK passport expired in 2009.
Outside the courtroom, one of Lord Black’s attorneys said he could “possibly” leave prison in Florida — where media crews are camped out — later today.
This morning’s hearing comes after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Lord Black’s motion for bail while it reconsiders his 2007 convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice.
Sources previously told the National Post that at the hearing on Wednesday, Lord Black’s attorneys would seek permission for him to cross the border and return to his Toronto home.
Lord Black, 65, has now served 28 months of a 6½-year sentence for four criminal convictions — three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction. The jury acquitted him of nine other charges.
He has been fighting the convictions ever since. His lawyers took the case to the highest court in the United States. Last month, the Black team won a key victory: the U.S. Supreme Court concluded the jury in Lord Black’s case had been given improper instructions and ordered the case back to the appeals court for review.
Two weeks ago, Lord Black’s lawyers filed documents with appeals court arguing he has already served in prison could ultimately be longer than his ultimate sentence.
He did not appear at today’s court proceedings.
National Post
kcarlson@nationalpost.com
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