Oops: Feds admit mistake in calling Democratic governor 'special offender' Associated Press

Published: Friday May 2, 2008



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Print This Email This Federal court officials acknowledged Friday that they erred this week in classifying former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman as a special offender who required an extra layer of approval before traveling to New Orleans. Probation officials in Alabama and Louisiana mistakenly applied rules governing offenders who are on probation. Siegelman is not on probation; he is free on bond pending appeal, said Karen Redmond, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. "They made an honest mistake," Redmond said. "They were giving him conditions for a special offender under probation. He's not. He's pretrial." Siegelman, a Democrat who was convicted in 2006 on corruption charges, complained this week that he had been placed under new travel restrictions after appearing in several national media outlets and traveling to Washington to criticize his prosecution, which he claims was politically motivated. He said the new rules were aimed at slowing him down or preventing him altogether from stating his case to the public. Siegelman had requested to travel to New Orleans to visit friends, including a journalist who makes documentaries. But probation officials informed him Tuesday that he was being classified as a special offender who would need approval from the district court there to visit  a process that could take as long as a month. Court officials in Alabama said the change was not a new restriction and that they were simply applying existing rules established by the New Orleans court. The mistake came as a result of a misunderstanding between officials in Louisiana and Alabama about Siegelman's status, Redmond said. The 94 court districts across the country have different rules regarding visiting offenders who are on probation. As travel requests come in, probation officers routinely call other districts to inquire about those rules and to notify them of a visiting offender, she said. Although those rules don't apply to Siegelman, he is required to get approval from the judge handling his case before traveling out of state. Siegelman expressed relief that they acknowledged the error, but he said court officials in Alabama still seem to be tightening his travel flexibility.