Detroit (WWJ) -- Governor Jennifer Granholm says she would preside over the tentatively scheduled Sept. 3rd hearing on the request to remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office if such a hearing is deemed necessary.
Granholm said Wednesday that the hearing, if it's needed, would be in the Detroit area.
Wednesday is the deadline for Detroit City Council and Kilpatrick to raise any legal issues related to the hearing. Both sides then have until Aug. 20 to respond to each other's filings. The council has asked Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office for misconduct.
Michigan law allows a governor to remove an elected official from office. Click here for more on the text scandal.
In other developments today:
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's attorneys say they will waive the mayor's right to a preliminary exam and move the criminal case straight to Wayne County Circuit Court instead of fighting perjury charges in a lower court.
Attorney James Parkman says the issue will be discussed Thursday morning in 36th District Court. He says Kilpatrick may waive a preliminary exam set for Sept. 22. That's a hearing where a judge determines whether there's probable cause to hold a trial.
Kilpatrick and a former chief of staff Christine Beatty are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, all tied to their testimony in a civil trial last year. Beatty 's attorney is expected to do the same.
Attorneys on both sides are arguing over whether the mayor's text messages can be used as evidence. Parkman says moving straight to circuit court will speed up the case.
The Wayne County prosecutor's office declined to comment.
Meantime, Parkman also said the mayor's legal team declined to provide information sought by the Michigan attorney general's office regarding a shoving incident. State authorities are investigating allegations that Kilpatrick physically interfered with a sheriff's detective who was trying to serve a subpoena to the mayor's friend last month.
Parkman says the attorney general's office sought information from the mayor's legal team in a phone call Wednesday. He says the request was declined because they believe a charge against the mayor is a "done deal.''
E-Mail Story
Print Story
