Ex. Rep. Jefferson given one-month extension to file Supreme Court appeal
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON - Sunday was originally the deadline for former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, to file his Supreme Court appeal of his 2009 corruption conviction. But Jefferson's lead appellate attorney, Lawrence Robbins, recently asked, and was granted, until July 24 to file the appeal. The one-month extension was granted by Chief Justice John Roberts. University of Richmond Constitutional Law Professor Carl Tobias said the extension is no surprise. It's routine, he said, "especially so when a case, like Jefferson's, is relatively complex." Given that the court finishes its 2011-2012 term this week, the delay won't mean very much in terms of when the Supreme Court decides whether to schedule a hearing on the Jefferson appeal. That's still likely to occur sometime next fall, after the High Court begins its 2012-13 term in October.