MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — The sentencing of disgraced ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been pushed to May as a court battle to reveal sealed evidence that was kept out of his trial continues.
Silver, who was found guilty by a federal jury in November on corruption charges, was originally slated for an April 13 sentencing.
Last week, after a request from defense lawyers, Judge Valerie Caproni moved the sentencing to May 3, according to court documents — and set a date to hear arguments related to revealing secret documents at Silver's sentencing.
Caproni had ruled in February that the sealed evidence could become public post-trial, but Silver's lawyers, who have been fighting to keep the seemingly inflammatory documents under wraps, took that decision to appeals court.
At the end of March, a panel of appellate judges dismissed Silver's appeal, saying it's up to Caproni to decide if the documents are relevant to his impending sentencing and should become public.
But a hitch to making the documents public also revolves around another person named in the secret evidence, who is simultaneously fighting to keep the documents sealed.
Called "Sealed Party A" in court documents, the person, referred to with female pronouns in court papers, is also seeking an appeal. While the appellate court shot down Silver's request for an appeal, it granted Sealed Party A an appellate hearing, which remains pending.
The judge will hear arguments Thursday from all involved parties about whether or not to move forward with plans to reveal the evidence, while redacting information about the other person named in the documents.
The New York Times and NBC have also filed motions arguing the documents should be revealed on First Amendment grounds.
Silver's lawyers have fought to keep the evidence sealed, arguing that anything that comes out could potentially effect their appeal of Silver's guilty verdict.
According to the Times, the sealed evidence appears to include transcripts from a pre-trial hearing.
In November, Silver, 72, was found guilty on all seven of the fraud, money laundering and extortion charges he faced related to two bribery schemes in which he used the guise of his legal practice to get millions in kickbacks over several years.
The conviction was a steep fall from grace for Silver — a once beloved assemblyman who represented Lower Manhattan for more than 35 years.
Silver has continued to maintain his innocence — his lawyers argued that no witness ever said there was an explicit agreement trading political favors for money.
