Retrial bid denied for ex-senator Woods

Former state Sen. Jon Woods walks outside the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building in Fayetteville in this April 27, 2018, file photo. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Former state Sen. Jon Woods walks outside the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building in Fayetteville in this April 27, 2018, file photo. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Former state Sen. Jon Woods' request for a new trial was denied Wednesday by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Woods of Springdale, is serving an 18-year sentence in federal prison for his 2018 conviction on 15 counts for taking kickbacks from state grants. He is one of six former state legislators who pleaded guilty or were convicted on corruption-related charges in the investigation.

Woods asked for a new trial in May, claiming the FBI coerced then-state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, into giving incriminating information about Woods in a breach of attorney-client privilege. Hutchinson was the attorney for Milton "Rusty" Cranford, a lobbyist who pleaded guilty to paying bribes to Hutchinson and Woods, among others. Hutchinson's statements came out in court records after Woods was sentenced and Hutchinson was charged.

Hutchinson, the nephew of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, pleaded guilty in July 2019 in three appearances in different federal courts to accepting bribes. He has not yet been sentenced.

Woods claims the information involving the hiring of Woods' fiancee at the time by a business Cranford represented was protected by attorney-client privilege between Hutchinson and Cranford.

"Woods cannot assert purported interference in the alleged attorney-client relationship between Hutchinson and Cranford as a violation of his own rights," the appeals court ruled.

Furthermore, the information disclosed Hutchinson's case "tended to buttress rather than rebut the government's theory of the case" against Woods, the appeals court ruled. Finally, the hiring was a known fact already before Woods' trial began, the court noted.

Upcoming Events