A Washington federal judge rejected a request to unseal a PowerPoint presentation that prosecutors prepared in the case against Kevin Ring, a former lobbyist convicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal. The presentation, Ring argued, would shed light on the “trial penalty”—the consequences defendants face when they choose to go to trial.
A jury convicted Ring in late 2010 of trading things of value—including meals and trips—in exchange for favors from public officials. It was his second trial. A jury hung following his first trial in 2009. Ring is serving 20 months in prison.
