CHICAGO — Terry Cooke of The Hamilton Spectator says that a retired lawyer in the courtroom where Conrad Black is on trial assured him that the former publishing tycoon would be convicted.
Mr. Black is facing charges for mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, racketeering and tax violations. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.\
In a report to his newspaper, Mr. Cooke wrote, “ . . . in the courtroom, the day's evidence by the prosecution was equal parts contrived drama and a stoking of the fires of upper class envy.
“In each instance the defence team's cross examination demolished the prosecution's presentation of events, leaving court watchers wondering how the case ever made it to trial in the first place. Conrad Black may very well be guilty of bad judgment and a conspicuous consumption of the finer things in life, but the prosecution has produced zero evidence that he is guilty of any criminal acts.”
Mr. Cooke said that as he got up to leave at the end of a long day in the courtroom an elderly gentleman tapped him on the shoulder.
Asking Mr. Cooke if he was a Canadian, he introduced himself as a retired Chicago lawyer who had been a keen observer of the Federal Court for more than 40 years.\
“I bet you think Conrad is going to walk given the lack of hard evidence.”\
Mr. Cooke said that was exactly what he thought but then was stopped cold by the man telling him that in Federal Court in Chicago the government wins more than 95 per cent of the cases that go to trial.
“Black should have negotiated a plea bargain on something. He’s not going to win. Not in this place.”
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