Ex-Judge Baumgartner's attorney appealing case to U.S. Supreme Ct

Richard Baumgartner

Lawyers for disgraced former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner are hoping to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case, arguing federal prosecutors went too far in trying to apply an arcane area of the law.

Instead, they contend, the matter should have remained as a state-prosecuted case.

Don Bosch and Ann Short have submitted their bid, called a petition for certiorari, to the court.

They're waiting to hear if the U.S. solicitor general, which oversees U.S. litigation before the court, responds. An April 3 deadline has been set for the response.

It typically takes four justices to agree to hear a case, and the court takes only a fraction of the petitions submitted to it.

There's no timetable on how soon the court might move - if at all. The court's docket is scheduled through the rest of the term, which ends in June., so if justices wanted to hear the case, it likely wouldn't be until at least fall 2015.

"We think this is an important issue that federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have been addressing," Bosch told WBIR 10News. "We hope they will also review Mr. Baumgartner's legal position."

Bosch declined to comment further because the case is on appeal.

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