tasksgirl
04-12-2008, 08:46 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/10/national/a021716D10.DTL&feed=rss.business
Jurors acquitted a federal agent on charges he illegally got information from a restricted criminal database that ended up in a campaign ad slamming Gov. Bill Ritter.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis had been charged with exceeding his authorized access to government computers, and prosecutors argued he had acted for political purposes during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. He faced up to three years in prison if convicted.
A federal court jury took only about two hours to return the not-guilty verdict Wednesday.
The ad criticized Ritter for plea bargains with illegal immigrants when he was a prosecutor.
Voorhis hugged teary-eyed supporters who cheered as the verdict was read. Pointing to an American flag pin on his lapel, Voorhis told one supporter, "This is what I represent."
His attorney, Bill Taylor, later said the verdict restores Voorhis' reputation.
"Cory was never going to plead guilty to anything, because he firmly believed that what he had done was nothing more than his job," Taylor said. "He was prepared for a jury to disagree with him, if they saw the facts that way. But he was confident he would be acquitted."
Ritter's campaign first alerted authorities to a possible violation of the law.
"We respect the jury's finding," Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said.
Voorhis has been on unpaid administrative leave. ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said he did not know when Voorhis might be allowed to return to work.
The information taken from the criminal database dealt with suspects who accepted plea deals with Ritter, a Democrat, when he was Denver district attorney.
One of those suspects, an illegal immigrant facing a heroin charge, was allowed to plead to a less serious charge of agricultural trespassing, which allowed him to avoid deportation.
An ad run by Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez, Ritter's opponent in the race, alleged that after getting that plea deal, the suspect was charged with a sex crime in California.
Jury foreman Craig Disney agreed with the defense that Voorhis was simply doing his job. Whether the information was provided to a campaign for use in an attack ad didn't matter to Disney, who said the testimony showed Voorhis' job description included cultivating relationships with the public, including politicians and the media.
"It may not have been the best choice on his part" to provide information to a campaign, Disney said, but testimony indicated Voorhis did not break the law.
Jurors acquitted a federal agent on charges he illegally got information from a restricted criminal database that ended up in a campaign ad slamming Gov. Bill Ritter.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis had been charged with exceeding his authorized access to government computers, and prosecutors argued he had acted for political purposes during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. He faced up to three years in prison if convicted.
A federal court jury took only about two hours to return the not-guilty verdict Wednesday.
The ad criticized Ritter for plea bargains with illegal immigrants when he was a prosecutor.
Voorhis hugged teary-eyed supporters who cheered as the verdict was read. Pointing to an American flag pin on his lapel, Voorhis told one supporter, "This is what I represent."
His attorney, Bill Taylor, later said the verdict restores Voorhis' reputation.
"Cory was never going to plead guilty to anything, because he firmly believed that what he had done was nothing more than his job," Taylor said. "He was prepared for a jury to disagree with him, if they saw the facts that way. But he was confident he would be acquitted."
Ritter's campaign first alerted authorities to a possible violation of the law.
"We respect the jury's finding," Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said.
Voorhis has been on unpaid administrative leave. ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said he did not know when Voorhis might be allowed to return to work.
The information taken from the criminal database dealt with suspects who accepted plea deals with Ritter, a Democrat, when he was Denver district attorney.
One of those suspects, an illegal immigrant facing a heroin charge, was allowed to plead to a less serious charge of agricultural trespassing, which allowed him to avoid deportation.
An ad run by Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez, Ritter's opponent in the race, alleged that after getting that plea deal, the suspect was charged with a sex crime in California.
Jury foreman Craig Disney agreed with the defense that Voorhis was simply doing his job. Whether the information was provided to a campaign for use in an attack ad didn't matter to Disney, who said the testimony showed Voorhis' job description included cultivating relationships with the public, including politicians and the media.
"It may not have been the best choice on his part" to provide information to a campaign, Disney said, but testimony indicated Voorhis did not break the law.