Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Reactions to Transy Four Decision

The Sixth Circuit's opinion in the case of the Transy Four, released yesterday, doesn't seem to have garnered too much news coverage this morning, but the Lexington Herald-Leader does have a lengthy piece on the decision.

Beth Musgrave reports "Attorneys for the men said they were not sure whether their clients would appeal the decision to the full Sixth Circuit or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even if the appellate court's decision goes unchallenged, there is a chance that the sentence will remain the same, defense lawyers said." Fred Peters, an attorney for Eric Borsuk, said that because the sentencing guidelines are no longer mandatory, the district court judge could let her original 87-month sentence stand. Possible, I suppose, but it seems unlikely.

Peters told Musgrave that he felt the recent Vanity Fair article about the heist, published weeks before the boys argued their appeal to the Sixth Circuit, didn't do them any favors. "I really think that the Vanity Fair article hurt those guys," he said.

A lawyer for Charles Allen "said he has not yet spoken to him and said it was too early to say whether they would appeal the decision. Nash said Allen's decision would not be dependent on what the other three decide." Lawyers for Warren C. Lipka and Spencer Reinhard did not comment. Musgrave's report also notes that Reinhard and Lipka were scheduled to be moved out of the federal prison in Ashland, KY soon, "in part because of the Vanity Fair article."