A U.S. district court judge has denied Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez's (N.J.) request to have his corruption trial recessed on days when the Senate has a "critical" vote.
Judge William H. Walls said in a statement Friday that Menendez is no more "entitled" than any other defendant. The judge said Menendez's "unique situation" is no different than that of a radio repairman or a cab driver, Politico reported.
"The Court will not serve as concierge to any party or lawyer. Defendant Menendez claims that he is in a 'unique situation' because his voting duties are 'on a schedule not of his own making,'" Walls wrote. "But so are the duties of the radio repairman, the cab driver, and the businessman. Yet none would claim the right to dictate the schedule of their own criminal trial."
Menendez was indicted more than two years ago, accused of carrying out "official favors" for his friend, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, in exchange for private jet flights, vacations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. Menendez is accused of starting to take bribes from Melgen right after he entered the Senate in 2006, according to prosecutors.
The trial is set to begin Sept. 6 following efforts by Menendez' team to delay it.
The New Jersey senator's attorneys have most recently requested the trial be delayed until October. His lawyers said in a motion filed last week that a "clash of values" is being created because the senator's absence from the Senate could impact important votes on raising the debt ceiling and avoiding a government shutdown, according to Politico.
"Senator Menendez, like any criminal defendant whose individual liberty is at stake, has a clear and unqualified interest in being present at his own trial," attorneys Abbe Lowell and Raymond M. Brown wrote.
"However," the lawyers wrote, "a trial taking place during a session of Congress risks involuntarily denying Senator Menendez his rights to due process and confrontation, unless he elects to forego his constitutional duty to cast his vote on critical issues pending before Congress so that he can be present in the courtroom."
Walls disagreed with their argument, saying the conflict was no different from one faced by any other defendant.
"The Senator is neither being forced to withhold his vote from the Senate, nor being forced to waive his right to be present at his trial. Senator Menendez may absent himself if he so chooses," Walls wrote.
"Menendez is entitled to no more and no less deference than any other defendant. If the motion had been made by a defendant orthopedic surgeon who asked the Court to recess to accommodate her operating room schedule, it would be denied," Walls wrote. "So too would the motion be denied if made by a construction worker who sought trial schedule adjustment so that he could go to work on a building project. And if a college professor sought recess of the trial to meet his lecture appointments, his motion would likewise be denied."