Lawyers for J.T. Burnette ask 11th Circuit to overturn conviction on corruption charges

Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
·2 min read

Lawyers for John Thomas “J.T.” Burnette are asking the 11th Circuit of Appeals to vacate his conviction on public corruption charges and remand the case back to the district court for a new trial or judgment of acquittal.

Burnette’s attorneys filed their brief with the appellate court on Wednesday laying out their arguments for why the conviction should be overturned. The 80-page brief largely mirrored defense motions filed earlier with the lower court and the 11th Circuit alleging errors made by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who presided over his trial.

Jurors convicted Burnette, a wealthy businessman, developer and hotelier, on extortion and bribery charges for his role in a pay-to-play scheme involving former City Commissioner Scott Maddox and his longtime partner Paige Carter-Smith.

Back story:

Burnette, whose post-conviction motions were all denied, was sentenced to three years in prison following his trial in July and August. He reported last week to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama.

In their latest court filing, Burnette’s lawyers again asserted that Hinkle mistakenly changed a standard jury instruction involving the definition of bribery and allowed an undercover FBI agent to testify about Burnette’s truthfulness in secretly recorded conversations. They also said the court erred when it didn’t grant a motion for acquittal on a charge of making false statements to the FBI.

“The government’s theory of the case was seriously flawed,” Burnette’s lawyers wrote. “At the government’s urging, the court instructed the jury that it could convict even if the government failed to prove that Maddox promised to take official action on any specific matter.”

Burnette, 44, was convicted for illegal payoffs he arranged for Maddox and Carter-Smith through their Governance lobbying firm. He paid $100,000 for Maddox’s help in killing a rival downtown hotel and directed undercover FBI agents posing as developers to pay two $10,000 bribes for his help with approvals involving Fallschase.

Both federal prosecutors and Hinkle himself have said Burnette got a fair trial and that there were no errors. The government is expected to file a response to Burnette’s brief in the near future.

Williams & Connolly, a Washington, D.C., firm with major corporate clients, is representing Burnette in his appeal. Tim Jansen, who was his lead attorney during the trial, joined the appellate team last week, according to 11th Circuit filings.

Maddox and Carter-Smith pleaded guilty to bribery charges and testified against Burnette during his trial. Maddox is serving a five-year sentence at a federal prison camp in Taladega, Alabama; Carter-Smith is serving a two-year sentence at the federal prison camp in Marianna.

Back story:

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: J.T. Burnette appeal: Lawyers aim to overturn Tallahassee corruption verdict