Knowing how judges ruled in other cases, however, offers entry into their thinking and judicial philosophy.
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's attorneys will be in Atlanta on Dec. 9 to argue his bribery and corruption conviction before three judges of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Siegelman argues with a great deal of legitimacy that he and former HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were victims of political prosecution. The federal prosecutor in Montgomery charged that the $500,000 the former healthcare magnate made to the Siegelman education lottery campaign was a bribe in exchange for a seat on a powerful state health regulatory board.
The former governor is out on bond awaiting the appeal hearing while Mr. Scrushy remains in federal prison.
The Siegelman legal team says it is comfortable with the three judges who will hear oral arguments even though all of them are Republican appointees and at least one was part of high-profile political rulings in Alabama that favored Republicans.
One judge was a member of the panel that denied Mr. Scrushy bond on the grounds he was a threat to flee.
Mr. Siegelman and Mr. Scrushy, of course, hope the judges will reverse their convictions based on any of the alleged errors prosecutors made before and during the trial.
The public's greater stake in this hearing, though, is for the judges to rule on the facts.
Political prosecutions are a deadly threat to democracy.
To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com Copyright (c) 2008, The Decatur Daily, Ala. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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