NATIONAL BRIEFING / ALASKA
Justice Department officials in Washington asked a judge to release two imprisoned Alaska state legislators after a review of their corruption convictions appeared to uncover lapses of the sort that helped derail the conviction of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
The officials moved to send the cases of Victor Kohring and Peter Kott, convicted in 2007 and serving prison terms for bribery and extortion, to federal court in Alaska. They asked that both men be released on their own recognizance, a move that criminal law experts called highly unusual.
Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. ordered this year that other Alaska public corruption cases be scrutinized after a federal judge in Washington sanctioned prosecutors for failing to share evidence that could have helped Stevens’ defense. Holder renounced Stevens’ conviction in April.
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