Lawyers for imprisoned former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich have appealed his corruption convictions and 14-year sentence. Monday's filing with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes more than two years after the Blagojevich's retrial and 16 months after he entered a Colorado prison.
Jurors convicted the former governor for wide-ranging corruption, including a bid to profit from his power to appoint someone to the U.S. senate seat Barack Obama vacated to become president. His lawyers filed the appeal less than an hour before the midnight deadline. Defense attorneys citing the case’s complexity received permission in June to file a longer-than-usual appeal.