Election Fraud

The election fraud trial of veteran political consultant Julius Henson was postponed Wednesday because of the illness of the state's primary investigator in the case. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown postponed the trial, which centers on an Election Day 2010 robocall, until Feb. 23, when jury selection is expected to begin. Prosecutors believe Special Agent John C. Poliks will have recovered enough by then to participate in the trial. Lawyers in the case finished a motions hearing on Tuesday, during which one of three conspiracy charges against Henson was dismissed because Brown deemed it repetitive.

Jury selection is expected to begin Wednesday in the election fraud case against veteran political consultant Julius Henson after a Baltimore judge rejected a defense request to throw out the charges. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown ruled Tuesday that the laws Henson is accused of breaking — stemming from misleading "robocalls" on Election Day 2010 — are constitutional. Brown did dismiss one of the three conspiracy charges against Henson, saying it was redundant. Henson still faces two counts of conspiracy to violate election laws, one count of election fraud and one count of failing to include a campaign authority line on the call.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for sunny skies with a high near 52 degrees. It is expected to be partly cloudy tonight, with a low temperature around 37 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Election fraud trial of Ehrlich consultant set for Monday : Julius Henson, 62, is accused of election fraud, conspiracy to violation election laws and failure to provide a campaign authority line on an Election Day 2010 robocall he created for former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Deliberations to resume in Arundel death-penalty trial : Jury deliberations in the death-penalty trial of a convicted killer charged in the murder of a correctional officer are scheduled to resume Monday morning in Anne Arundel County.

A defense lawyer asked a Baltimore judge Monday to throw out election fraud charges against veteran political consultant Julius Henson, arguing that Henson was exercising his right to free speech when he composed a misleading Election Day robo-call. Defense lawyer Edward Smith Jr. told the court he did not dispute the facts in the prosecutors' case against his client. "Mr. Henson wrote the text of the call," he said. Smith argued, however, that Henson had a legal right to create the call - which prosecutors contend violated state law by using false information to try to supress the black vote.

The election fraud trial of long-time political consultant Julius Henson is set for Monday at 2 p.m. in Baltimore Circuit Court.  Henson, 62, of East Baltimore, is accused of election fraud, conspiracy to violation election laws and failure to provide a campaign authority line on an Election Day 2010 robocall he created as a consultant for former Gov.Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. The robocall, sent to thousands of voters as Democratic Gov. Martin...

Paul Schurick was recently found guilty for election fraud, but this is not the first time such activities have occurred in Maryland elections, and, unfortunately, it's probably not the last ("Schurick guilty of election fraud in robocall case," Dec. 6). What is a fair sentence, one that respects both the franchise rights of voters and discourages such activities from taking place again? Some have suggested Mr. Schurick will be sentenced to a suspended jail term and put on probation.

A Baltimore jury Tuesday found Paul Schurick, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign manager, guilty of fraud and related charges for his role in an Election Day 2010 robocall - a decision hailed by government watchdog groups who say that for too long dirty tricks have tainted Maryland politics. The robocall, sent to thousands of voters as Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley swept to a re-election victory, was designed to suppress black votes by telling recipients to "relax" and assuring them that O'Malley had been successful even though the polls had not yet closed, the jury found.

A bipartisan group of high-profile politicians took the witness stand Thursday to vouch for the honesty and integrity of Paul Schurick, a key Ehrlich campaign adviser, who faces charges of election fraud stemming from a 2010 Election Day "robocall" that prosecutors allege was designed to suppress black votes. The day began with testimony in Baltimore Circuit Court from MSNBC analyst and former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele - who called Schurick "smart and careful" - and ended with Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who praised his former campaign chairman.

State prosecutors rested their election fraud case Wednesday against a top aide to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. after introducing matter-of-fact campaign documents addressing a plan to suppress African-American votes. The documents, seized by FBI agents through raids and subpoenas in their investigation of Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick and political consultant Julius Henson, show the activities of Henson's company, Universal Elections Inc., in the buildup to the November 2010 gubernatorial election.