Stevens denies Blagojevich request for delay
National News
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to delay ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial on corruption charges, set to begin next week.
Justice John Paul Stevens rejected Blagojevich's request without comment. His decision came shortly after the Obama administration told the high court that it opposed Blagojevich's request.
The former governor's trial is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
In Chicago, Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky said after hearing about the decision that the former governor's legal team was ready for the trial to get under way.
"We didn't prepare presuming that the Supreme Court would rule in our favor — we prepared for the worst," Sheldon Sorosky said. "The Supreme Court has ruled and that's that."
Blagojevich had asked the high court to delay his trial until the justices rule first in pending cases about the constitutionality of the federal honest-services fraud law. Prosecutors have charged Blagojevich with violating the fraud law and other crimes.
Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said the evidence on the honest services charges "is the same as that underlying the bribery, extortion, and racketeering counts." That means the flow of the trial won't be affected by what the Supreme Court says about the honest services charges, Katyal said in court papers.
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USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.