John Ford could be released to a halfway house as early as late 2011, said Michael Scholl, the Memphis attorney who represented him in Ford’s bribery case in Operation Tennessee Waltz.
Ford got a 66-month sentence in that case, plus another 14 years for a later conviction in a separate federal case in Nashville. But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Nashville conviction this week because the federal court did not have jurisdiction.
“They’re basically saying ‘that’s it,'” said Scholl, who did not represent Ford in Nashville. Ford was represented by a federal public defender.
Scholl said he was “a little bit surprised” about the jurisdictional ruling. Such issues are usually raised and argued in pretrial motions or at trial.
The appeals court also overruled, with the consent of prosecutors, two other counts against Ford based on “honest services” statutes that the Supreme Court has ruled only apply in bribery and kickbacks cases. Ford was convicted of failing to disclose a financial arrangement with a company that did business with TennCare while he was a state senator.
“I was very excited,” said Scholl. “I have not talked to John but I’m happy for him.”
He expects Ford, 68, to be released to a halfway house in late 2011 or early 2012.