KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Mose Jefferson's bid for indigent status denied
Member Center:
Associated Press - August 6, 2009 6:34 PM ET
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that a former Louisiana congressman's brother isn't indigent and doesn't qualify for a court-appointed lawyer.
Mose Jefferson claims he can't afford to pay his lawyers to defend him against bribery and racketeering conspiracy charges while his property and assets are tied up as a result of his legal troubles.
But U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore Jr. said in court Thursday that Jefferson owns a home worth more than $200,000 that could be sold if he wasn't using it as collateral for the bond that allows him to stay out of jail.
Jefferson appeared in court a day after his brother, former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, was convicted of corruption charges by a federal jury in Virginia.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
