By AP/KWMU
Chicago – Lawyers for former Governor George Ryan have asked the entire U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to hear an appeal of his racketeering and fraud conviction.
In their filing Tuesday, the lawyers argued jury deliberations at Ryan's trial were severely flawed. They cited U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer's dismissal of two jurors and their replacement with alternates after eight days of deliberations.
The motion also claims there was an effort by some jurors to force the removal of a juror with whom they disagreed.
A three-judge appeals panel turned down Ryan's appeal in a 2-1 split decision.
After last week's decision, federal prosecutors asked Pallmeyer to enforce an order to make Ryan report to prison within 72 hours to start his 6 1/2-year sentence. But the appeals court stayed the deadline.