Legal News

Goodbye Conroe, Hello Houston: Stanford Gets New Digs

By Ashby Jones

After suffering through sickness and violence and a whole bunch of general unpleasantness (not to mention a revolving doors of lawyers), Allen Stanford got a dose of good news on Monday: A federal judge granted him his long-desired wish to move from a detention center in Conroe, Texas to one in downtown Houston. The move will presumably make it easier for Stanford to prepare for trial. Click here for the story, from the Houston Chronicle. Click here for previous Stanford coverage from the LB.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner’s order Monday made no mention of security issues, a notable fact perhaps given that Stanford was recently hospitalized following a fight with a fellow inmate. Instead, Hittner emphasized that the move would better enable Stanford to prepare his case.

"The Court recognizes the extraordinary nature and complexity of this case, the extent and gravity of the charges levied against Stanford, the hundreds of thousands of records involved, and the enormous amount of time no doubt necessary to review those documents and adequately prepare a defense," Hittner said.

Stanford faces 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud, bribery and obstruction of justice as part of an alleged scheme to bilk investors through certificates of deposit issued by a bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to the Houston Chron, Stanford remains, for now, in the prison infirmary.

"The reality is violence happens in any jail," said one of his lawyers, Kent Schaffer, though possibly to a lesser extent in the downtown Houston facility to which Stanford will soon move.

In the meantime, Stanford continues to struggle to gain access to money with which to pay his lawyers. On Monday a Dallas judge blocked Stanford’s effort to get a British court to order Lloyd’s of London to release insurance money for Stanford’s legal fees, Bloomberg News reported.

Ralph Janvey, who was placed in charge of Stanford assets, told the judge that Stanford was trying an "end run" by asking the court to order the insurer to pay.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 29, 2009 (boomark / email).