Supreme Court won’t hear imprisoned Va. delegate’s appeal

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the case of a former Virginia delegate who has been convicted on federal corruption charges.

The Daily Press of Newport News (http://bit.ly/1WU8N0X ) reports that the high court told former Newport News Del. Phil Hamilton that he had missed a deadline to file his petition against the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had upheld the bribery and extortion conviction.

Hamilton says he had been confused by the deadline, mistakenly thinking that the 90-day timeframe wouldn’t start until the Court of Appeals’ judgment became effective.

Hamilton was convicted in 2011 for using his position as a legislator to solicit a job at Old Dominion University that he helped create with taxpayer money. He is currently serving a nine-and-a-half-year sentence in prison.

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Information from: Daily Press, http://www.dailypress.com/