Attorneys for the wife of an Arkansas doctor convicted of plotting a bombing attack on the state medical board chairman have asked that a federal judge throw out her obstruction convictions or order a new trial.
Attorneys for Sangeeta “Sue” Mann filed a motion Saturday in federal court seeking an acquittal. She was convicted earlier this month of hiding documents as authorities investigated the February 2009 bombing at the home of Dr. Trent Pierce, the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board.
A federal jury convicted Dr. Randeep Mann in the bombing, and he faces up to life in prison. Sue Mann faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the two obstruction convictions.
A grand jury indicted Sue Mann for hiding pre-signed, blank checks before investigators executed a search warrant at Mann’s medical clinic in Russellville. She later turned over the checks. She also was convicted of lying to the grand jury about hiding the checks. Her husband also was convicted on obstruction charges relating to the checks.
“In this case, there was no evidence presented that defendants knew that the documents removed from the office would ever be sought by the grand jury,” Sue Mann’s attorney, Tim Dudley, wrote in the motion. He argued there wasn’t proof Sue Mann tried to obstruct the grand jury’s proceedings.
“The government never presented proof, that, had the documents been found during the search of the clinic, the grand jury investigation would have been different,” Dudley wrote. “Without such proof, there is no evidence that concealment of the documents had the natural and probable effect of interfering with the proceedings.”
Prosecutors had not responded to the motion Monday. Randeep Mann’s attorneys plan to appeal his conviction after he is sentenced, which is expected this fall.
A federal jury convicted Randeep Mann after more than two days of deliberations and four weeks of testimony. Prosecutors argued he planned the bombing at Pierce’s home as retaliation after the state medical board restricted his right to prescribe narcotics.