The defence of Mayor Larry O’Brien officially begins today.
The mayor’s trial will resume after what essentially amounted to a month-long hiatus while Judge Douglas J. Cunningham considered and then rejected a motion from O’Brien’s defence team to dismiss the case.
On June 9, defence lawyer David Paciocco urged Cunningham to drop the charges on the basis that the sections of the Criminal Code under which O’Brien is facing two charges do not catch the actions he is accused of.
Even if O’Brien had indeed attempted to secure a position on the National Parole Board for Terry Kilrea in exchange for his dropping out of the 2006 mayoral campaign, it is not a crime, Paciocco said.
Interpreting the laws to apply to this case would also catch Senate appointments, and parliamentary floor crossings, which is not the intent of the law, Paciocco argued.
On June 26, Cunningham ruled those Criminal Code sections are indeed intended to prevent misconduct on the part of politicians.
Today, O’Brien’s lawyer Michael Edelson will reveal which, if any, witnesses will be called for the defence.
