Aug. 14, 2001

It's looking more and more likely that a trial in the Olympic bid scandal case won't happen until after the Olympics, if at all.

Yesterday, federal prosecutors filed a notice of appeal, leaving the door open to an appeals process that would take months to play out.

News Specialist John Daley has the details.

They are like a pair of trains traveling on parallel tracks.

As the 2002 Games get rolling, it's quite possible we still won't have any resolution to that other major Olympic story--the case of Tom Welch and Dave Johnson.

Last month, federal judge David Sam dismissed four out of 15 felony charges.

Yesterday, prosecutors filed a notice of appeal--a sign that, for now, they aren't throwing in the towel.

Professor Erik Luna calls it a basic formality.

Erik Luna/University of Utah Law Professor: "IF YOU DON'T USE YOUR RIGHTS, YOU LOSE YOUR RIGHTS, THEY'RE NOT IN PERPETUITY. SO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAD TO FILE THEIR NOTICE OF APPEAL WITHIN A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME AND IF THEY DIDN'T THEY WOULD HAVE LOST AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAL JUDGE SAM'S RULING."

For the Justice Department, there's more at stake than just this case.

Prosecutors used a pair of tools: racketeering laws, and making a federal case of a state statute, using a state law to bring federal indictments in order to charge Welch and Johnson.

While Judge Sam took exception to both in dismissing four key counts, both are commonly used by federal prosecutors in a variety of cases and the Justice Department may be anxious to protect their use.

Just who might win on appeal, Luna says is a tossup.

Luna: "FROM OPINION, IF IT DOES GO ON APPEAL, IT'S AT LEAST A 50-50 SHOT THAT JUDGE SAM WOULD BE REVERSED ON THE LAW, NOT BECAUSE IT'S AN OUTRAGEOUS DECISION, BUT JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE CAN BE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION ON DIFFICULT LEGAL ISSUES THAT ARE INVOVLVED IN CASES SUCH AS THIS."

He says whether the Justice Department chooses to press on in the Welch/Johnson case will ultimately be decided at the highest levels of the agency.

Dave Johnson's attorney, Max Wheeler, says he's not surprised prosecutors filed the notice, saying it was "nothing unexpected."