JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (Note: The video above is from a previous related report.)
Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown’s criminal retrial won’t happen until September 2022 – more than five years after her original conviction.
Brown was convicted in May 2017 on 18 counts stemming from what prosecutors said was a sham charity that she used as a personal slush fund. That conviction was reversed in May 2021 by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the trial judge improperly removed a juror who said he was being guided by “The Holy Ghost” during deliberations.
Brown was sentenced to five years in prison following her original conviction. She served a little over two before being released in April 2020 due to her age, COVID-19 and unnamed health concerns.
Prosecutors announced in October that they planned to retry the 75-year-old and expressed frustration over case delays, including Brown’s protracted efforts to hire an attorney. But in a telephonic hearing Monday, they did not oppose the trial delay, acknowledging that Brown's newly assigned court-appointed attorneys had voluminous discovery and court records to go through to prepare for trial.
“We are on the same sheet of music on the timing,” Federal Prosecutor Tysen Duva told U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan, both of whom were involved in the original prosecution and trial.
Judge Corrigan reluctantly agreed to push back the trail citing the complexity of the case.
"I hate to put it out that far because I think it’s in the interest of everyone that this matter be resolved as soon as possible given the lengthy history of it," he said. "But I can’t make getting it done quickly the be all and end all of it."
Corrigan set Sept. 12 as the new trial date. Jury selection will be held Sept. 8 and 9. The deadline for a both sides to reach any plea deal is Aug. 8. The next status hearing in the case is set for Aug. 15 at 10 a.m.