Kilpatrick raises possible conflict with lawyer

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest involving a lawyer who is defending him at his corruption trial, a judge said Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds disclosed the issue Wednesday, moments before hundreds of potential jurors began filling out questionnaires. She didn't elaborate but set a hearing for next Tuesday. Kilpatrick and his longtime attorney, James Thomas, declined to explain the possible conflict to The Associated Press. "I don't think there's any chance I'm not going to do this trial," Thomas said later. Kilpatrick and his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, are charged with tax crimes as well as widespread fraud involving kickbacks and bribes. There are two other defendants in the case, former Detroit water boss Victor Mercado and city contractor Bobby Ferguson, a longtime Kilpatrick pal. Kilpatrick resigned as mayor in fall 2008, dogged by a text-messaging scandal and charges of perjury in a civil trial. He spent time in jail and later went to prison for violating probation. The federal case is the result of a long-running investigation that stretches as far back as Kilpatrick's years as a state lawmaker, before he was elected mayor in 2001. Edmunds, referring to steady publicity about Kilpatrick and scandals in his administration, said she's not looking for jurors who aren't familiar with the ex-mayor, just people who can be "fair, objective and impartial." "These are charges only," Edmunds told potential jurors. "They're not proof of anything." The judge wants to cull the jury pool to 80 by Sept. 6 and then eventually select 12 jurors and six alternates. The trial's opening statements are tentatively scheduled for Sept. 14. The trial could last into January. "This is an unusual process," Thomas told reporters. Earlier Wednesday, the Kilpatricks hugged each other in court, with father asking son, "What's up, big fella?" Kwame Kilpatrick shook the hand of Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Doeh and joked about the breadth of the government's case against him. In a light exchange with a TV reporter about fame, the former mayor said, "I'm infamous." Published: Fri, Aug 10, 2012