Skilling gets prison postponement

Score one for Skilling.

Jeff Skilling won't be calling this southern Minnesota town home just yet.

Late Monday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order postponing the ex-Enron CEO's Tuesday report date to a low-security federal prison until the panel gives "careful consideration" to his request for bail while he appeals his convictions on 19 criminal counts.

"This order is entered solely to allow this court to give careful consideration to the request for bail pending appeal," the court said.

The last-minute reprieve was a possibility up to Skilling's deadline of 2 p.m. Tuesday to report to the prison in Waseca, about 75 miles south of Minneapolis. Skilling will await word from the 5th Circuit on whether he can pursue his appeal inside or outside of prison. His appeal is expected to be filed next month.

Whatever. You can run, but you can't hide.

UPDATE: Denied!

Just a day after saying former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling could delay reporting to jail, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals denied his request to stay out of jail pending his appeal.

Skilling was ordered to report to prison immediately.

Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in his two-page order that "Skilling raises no substantial question that is likely to result in the reversal of his convictions on all of the charged counts."

As a result, Higginbotham denied Skilling's request for bail pending his appeal and vacated an earlier order staying his prison report date.

Although Higginbotham's order notes "serious frailties" in Skilling's convictions, it says those problems fail to raise a "substantial question" likely to result in the overturning of all Skilling's convictions, as would be required to grant bail during appeal.

Sorry, Jeff. Better luck next time.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on December 12, 2006 to Enronarama | TrackBack