NEW YORK — Former New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver's quest to avoid prison got a boost when a panel of appeals judges heard his appeal.
The Democrat wasn't at oral arguments Wednesday before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan but he likely heard a positive report from his lawyers.
Two of the panel's three judges questioned whether Silver's actions fit the definition of a public corruption crime.
Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan said a description by prosecutors of what Silver promised to do in return for business steered to a law firm was "pretty squishy."
Silver is appealing his conviction and seven-year prison sentence. Prosecutors say he collected nearly $4 million in fees to help a cancer researcher and real estate developers. An earlier conviction was overturned.
