Possumblog

Good.

Appeals court throws out 7-day sentence of former HealthSouth CFO

By JAY REEVES
The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court said the seven-day prison term given an architect of the $2.7 billion fraud at HealthSouth Corp. was "shockingly short" and ordered another sentencing before a new judge.

Ruling in a 32-page decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the sentence of former HealthSouth finance chief Mike Martin and sent the case back to district court for a second time.

U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon first sentenced Martin to probation and house arrest, but prosecutors won an appeal. Clemon then sentenced Martin to a week in prison, prompting another appeal and the 11th Circuit's ruling Tuesday overturning the sentence and removing Clemon from the case.

The 11th Circuit said Martin's case should be reassigned because it was likely Clemon "would have difficulty putting his previous views and findings aside." Prosecutors have also appealed other sentences handed down by Clemon in HealthSouth-related cases and viewed by the government as too light. [...]

Clemons' rulings over the years have strained belief, such as his dismissal of the previous federal charges of Medicaid bid rigging by Don Siegelman. I'm not sure what his deal is, but he seems to have quite a bit of antipathy for any sort of federal investigations of public officials accused of wrongdoing, probably stemming from his own time being the subject of a federal investigation that was ended in 1996.

"Would have difficulty..." would seem to be a more than slight understatement.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at July 12, 2006 02:37 PM