Craig has few options for fighting guilty plea

Sen. Larry Craig faces few easy choices if he seeks to undo his guilty plea to disorderly conduct after an encounter with an undercover policeman at a Minneapolis airport men’s room, several legal experts say.

If the courts were to agree to discard the plea – and they usually don’t in Minnesota – Craig could face again a second, more serious charge that is a euphemism for window peeping, a University of Minnesota law professor said.

Craig pleaded guilty to a low-level, catch-all misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, said Fred Morrison, interim dean of the University of Minnesota law school.

The second charge, “interference with privacy,” was dismissed in a plea agreement.

Before overturning a plea agreement, Minnesota courts would want proof of a “manifest injustice,” such as defendants not being informed of some rights, professors say.

If the court dismissed the plea, he could face trial on both counts, said Steve Simon, a University of Minnesota law professor.

Interference with privacy is more serious than disorderly conduct, Simon said. It carries a $3,000 fine and up to a year in jail.