Jan 8, 2008 5:05 pm US/Central
Craig Continues To Fight Sex Sting Guilty Plea
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ―
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Police arrested U.S. Sen. Larry Craig at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on June 11, 2007 for lewd conduct.
MSP Airport Police
Seeking to have his guilty plea in a bathroom sex sting erased, the
attorneys for Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho argue in a new court filing
that the underlying act wasn't criminal because it didn't involve
multiple victims.
An appeals brief filed Tuesday contends that Minnesota's disorderly
conduct law "requires that the conduct at issue have a tendency to
alarm or anger 'others"' - underscoring the plural nature of the term.
Craig's brief goes on to cite other convictions that were
overturned because the multiple-victim test wasn't met. His lawyers
apply the same logic to his case.
The Republican senator pleaded guilty in August after his arrest
two months earlier at the Minneapolis airport. It was part of a broader
undercover push targeting men soliciting sex in public restrooms.
Craig was arrested June 11 by an undercover officer, Sgt. Dave
Karsnia, who said Craig tapped his feet and swiped his hand under a
stall divider in a way that signaled he wanted sex. Craig has denied
that, saying his actions were misconstrued.
"Appellant's alleged conduct in this case affected only a single
individual - Sergeant Karsnia," the Craig brief says. "It did not - and
could not affect 'others' as the disorderly conduct statute requires,
and therefore, does not satisfy that element of the statute."
The brief also argues that Karsnia himself could not have been
offended by the alleged conduct because "he invited it." The alleged
conduct, Craig's lawyers added, doesn't rise to the level of being
"offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous or noisy."
Craig's earlier attempt to withdraw his plea was turned down by a
district court judge, and the case is now before the Minnesota Court of
Appeals.
Besides attacking the law he was prosecuted under, Craig's legal
team argues that the hand signal allegedly used to communicate a desire
to engage in sexual conduct would be constitutionally protected speech.
They also say the plea is technically flawed because it lacked a
judicial signature.
Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports
Commission, which oversees the Minneapolis airport and which brought
the charges, said he was confident the guilty plea will stand.
"Facts are resilient, and Sen. Craig's continued, transparent
efforts to escape them don't change the truth of his behavior in an
airport restroom or the fact that he admitted guilt last August," Hogan
said.
Prosecutors have 45 days to respond, and then the case will be
scheduled for oral arguments. Once heard, a ruling is required within
90 days.
Craig has said he will finish his term, which ends in January 2009.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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