Kohring appointed public defender to handle appeal

ANCHORAGE — Vic Kohring, who represented parts of the Mat-Su Valley for seven terms in the state House of Representatives, will appeal his conviction and 42-month prison sentence on federal conspiracy and bribery charges. Kohring will be making those appeals without his Seattle-based trial attorney, John Henry Browne.

U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick on Friday appointed the Office of the Federal Defender to represent Kohring. The ruling comes following a notice to withdraw as Kohring’s counsel filed by Browne on May 12, four days after Sedwick imposed the former lawmaker’s sentence.

Because of Kohring’s financial situation — at his sentencing, Kohring said his indictment and trial has ruined him financially — the Office of the Federal Defender reports it has agreed to represent Kohring with his appeal. A notice of appeal is due within 10 days of sentencing, which in Kohring’s case is May 22.

Attempts to reach Kohring for comment were unsuccessful; however, the former House member has maintained his innocence to charges he accepted bribes from former executives of VECO oil services company in return for political favors.

In an essay published on the Progressive Alaska Internet blogging site, Kohring says he intends to continue fighting to prove his innocence and says the media and judge Sedwick made it impossible for him to get a fair trial.

“The media as a whole, with a few exceptions, has been a lynch mob and will not be satisfied until I’m in prison,” he says in the essay, dated May 13, the day following his sentencing. “My innocence matters little to them. ... The prosecutors’ goal was to nail a politician and get another notch on their belt. They were aided by Judge John Sedwick, who made numerous rulings, all against me, making it impossible for the jury to have complete information which would have cleared my name.”

Kohring vows to continue fighting and writes he is “optimistic I will prevail on appeal. I truly believe if I can get a trial in a different location where the jury pool hasn’t been tainted and a judge with no personal ax to grind, I would easily be exonerated.”

Kohring has until June 30 to report to authorities to begin serving his sentence.

Kohring’s essay at Progressive Alaska, along with a transcript of the statement he made to the court when he was sentenced, can be found at http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/05/guest-post-by-vic-kohring.html.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.