Supreme Court refuses to hear Blagojevich appeal News
Supreme Court refuses to hear Blagojevich appeal

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined [order list, PDF] to hear the appeal of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and left in place the 14-year sentence [JURIST report] imposed by Judge James Zagel of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on corruption charges [JURIST report], including one count of attempting to sell the US Senate seat vacated by then-president Barack Obama.

This is the second time Blagojevich has petitioned the Supreme Court to take his case. The first time was in 2016 to appeal [JURIST report] the sentencing from the jury. In his petition [text, PDF] to the Supreme Court, Blagovich asked whether the government must prove he “made an ‘explicit promise or undertaking’ in exchange for the contribution” in regards to campaign contributions.

Blagojevich currently has served six years of his sentence and is expected to be released in 2024.