A federal appeals court has denied a former Postville meatpacking executive’s request for a new trial, saying he failed to show the judge in the case was unfairly biased in favor of the prosecution.
Sholom Rubashkin was convicted in 2009 of 86 fraud charges, which led to a 27-year prison sentence. Rubashkin ran the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant, site of a huge immigration raid in 2008 that contributed to the business’ collapse.
Rubashkin’s case and long sentence drew national attention, including from six former U.S. attorneys general who voiced concern about his treatment.
His lawyers said U.S. District Judge Linda Reade should have stepped aside from his trial because she cooperated closely with prosecutors before the immigration raid, showing bias against the plant’s owners.
UPDATE: “Attorneys tell me they’re planning an appeal to an extended appeals court panel or directly to the US Supreme Court” -Yochanan Donn