Court Rejects Ex-Governor’s Appeal

Former Gov. Guy Hunt’s appeal of an ethics conviction was rejected Monday by a federal judge .

U.S. District Judge Edwin Nelson ruled that the 1992 indictment charging Hunt was defective because it failed to state that Hunt “knowingly” took money from the inaugural accounts. But, Nelson said, the error was not serious enough to violate the former governor’s constitutional rights.

Hunt, a Republican, claimed he was a victim of selective prosecution by Democratic Attorney General Jimmy Evans, and that the charges against him dealt with actions that happened too long ago to prosecute.

Hunt was convicted in April 1993 of illegally taking $200,000 from a 1987 inaugural account. Jurors rejected defense claims that Hunt was legally repaying himself for old political debts when he used some of the money for farm supplies and income tax payments.

Hunt was forced out of office on the conviction.