WDET News
- Mayor's Defense: Supress Text Messages, Question Authenticity
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Jul 2, 2008General
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s lawyers are laying out part of their criminal defense strategy.
Kilpatrick’s attorneys will file motions on Thursday challenging perjury and other charges brought by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. The prosecutor wants six years worth of text messages exchanged between the Mayor and over a dozen city employees as part of the investigation.
The defense plans to cite what it considers a wide variety of legal and constitutional violations to the request… including privacy… search and seizure… and probable cause.
Attorney Jim Parkman says the defense is also building a case against the authenticity of the text messages.
“Remember that the burden, of course, is not on a defendant to prove authenticity. But, we have evidence that we hope will prove that they are not authentic. Yeah, I saw eyes… and it’s a little unusual because we are not only prepared to defend against the authenticity argument but we are ready to prove they aren’t authentic.”
In March, Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty were charged with perjury and other crimes related to testimony they gave in a whistle-blower trial, last year. They are accused of lying about a romantic relationship and their part in the firing of a Detroit police officer.
Kilpatrick and Beatty deny the charges.
A preliminary examination in the case is scheduled for September 22nd.