Motions are settled in Jones bribery case
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 7, 2016 10:02 AM
Several pending motions in the bribery case of Judge Arnold Jones were settled Monday.
Motions filed by prosecutors hoped to prevent Jones and his attorneys from presenting evidence in an effort to impeach FBI Task Force Officer Matthew Miller as a witness.
Judge James C. Fox on Monday allowed the government's motions, but denied one of them in part.
The approved motions sought to prevent Jones' lawyers from arguing that he was the victim of entrapment and that he has been overcharged by the government.
Jones is accused of trying to bribe Miller to obtain copies of text messages between Jones' wife and another man. He has said repeatedly that he is not guilty of the charges.
Jones' defense team hoped its motions would convince Fox to allow the jury to hear its arguments that, firstly, Miller should have told Jones what he was asking him to do was illegal and declined to do it.
Secondly, the defense hoped to argue that Jones was charged with more serious offenses than his actions warranted, according to court documents.
Additionally, the documents state Jones and his attorneys were planning to attempt to use a civil case Miller is involved in to discredit him at trial. The pending suit, along with factual circumstances in two court cases, North Carolina v. Braswell and North Carolina v. Austin - presided over by Jones prior to his being charged - include details of the execution of a search warrant in those cases as well as the legal reasoning used by Jones as to why he ruled the search warrant was invalid.
The written orders signed by Fox this week prevent that evidence from being presented by the defense in an effort to impeach Miller as a witness.
Jones' trial in federal court in Wilmington is set to begin Oct. 17.