“It is not very likely that the court would consider his case”, he says, because the issues raised by McDonnell’s attorneys are “fairly routine”.
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McDonnell now has seven days to report to prison.
How soon he might begin serving his two-year sentence depends on whether the Supreme Court issues an emergency stay and how quickly the U.S. Bureau of Prisons can process his paperwork and assign him to an institution.
The request for McDonnell to remain free was made to Roberts, who handles emergency appeals from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A court hearing has been set for Virginia ex-first lady Maureen McDonnell’s appeal of her corruption conviction.
“I am saddened by the Court’s decision today to deny me freedom while I pursue vindication in the U.S. Supreme Court”.
The former governor could be jailed within a few months, experts said.
McDonnell said Thursday shortly after the appellate court decision that he will ask the Supreme Court to grant him bond while he pursues his appeal there. Both appealed their convictions largely on the argument that they neither performed nor promised to perform any “official” actions for Williams. His next step is an attempt before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“For McDonnell, the “Motion to clarify order granting release pending appeal or, in the alternative, to stay the mandate pending resolution of a petition for certiorari” is DENIED,” the judges wrote, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The court typically takes about six weeks to act on the petitions it receives. In a brief filed in the 4th Circuit, her lawyers say the appeals court decision to not overturn her husband’s convictions should not mean her own appeal suffers the same fate.
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McDonnell and his wife Maureen have remained free since their jury conviction in September.
