Roundup: Bruce Weyhrauch's Oral Argument; Brenda Morris's Departure from D.C.; and the Dates for My Class

Anchorage—

1. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of ex-State Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch (R.-Juneau) has been scheduled for December 8. Recall that this is a pre-trial appeal, as the trial of this former lawmaker was derailed by this appeal over a point of law that deserves further comment by me. Recall also that although I know a number of the defendants in the Alaska public corruption cases and a number of the lawyers involved, I have known Bruce Weyhrauch better over the years than I have known any of the other defendants.


2. The Website www.mainjustice.com has reported that Brenda Morris, who served as first chair in the collapsed prosecution of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens (R.-Alaska), has now left Washington and her position as Principal Deputy Chief of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section. A source told the publication that the decision for Morris to exit her supervisory role was a mutual one between the Department of Justice and Morris, who is the subject of two investigations concerning the prosecution’s disclosure of evidence to the defense in the Ted Stevens trial. A person familiar with the situation also told the publication that Morris moved to Georgia for personal reasons. The veteran prosecutor remains a trial attorney with the Public Integrity Section while she works out of an Atlanta office of the Department of Justice, and the position of Principal Deputy Chief for that section is for now unfilled.

3. My class on Alaska public corruption that starts next week runs on Wednesday afternoons from October 7 through November 25. You can get details through the Opportunities for Lifelong Education OLE) program at http://www.oleanchorage.org/ on the Internet.