Blagojevich's Supreme Court Push
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is considering former Governor Rod Blagojevich's final appeal.
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley sat down with the former governor's wife and his attorney as the highly nervous weekend gets underway.
"It's just something that hangs over me. We need a break. We need something to go our way here," said Patti Blagojevich.
After seven years of legal wrangling since his 2011 conviction, this is Rod Blagojevich's final attempt thru the courts at reducing his 14 year sentence.
"As far as his direct appeals, this is the end of the road," said Blagojevich attorney Len Goodman.
In the appeal, Blagojevich argues federal law in different parts of the country leaves the lines too blurry between what's a donation and what's a bribe.
Blagojevich went to prison without hard proof that he took campaign cash in exchange for official actions.
The same standard that's required elsewhere.
"There's a confusion in the law and the Supreme Court needs to step in and settle it," said Goodman.
"How many times can you tell your kids that you're sorry and their dad's not going to be coming home," said Patti Blagojevich.
And for Patti, a recent birthday prompted some sobering reflections.
"It's one of those days when you sit there and think, is this really where I am in my life? Did I ever expect that I'd be essentially a single mom with my husband in prison," she said. "Ten years ago, I was the First Lady of Illinois and and my husband had a very promising political future. So it's kind of surreal. Sometimes you feel like you're in an alternate reality."
The U.S. Supreme Court met in conference to weigh the appeal Friday.
But Len Goodman doesn't expect to know if Blagojevich's case will be considered until Monday.
The odds aren't very good. They never are.
The high court receives up to 8,000 appeal requests every year.
It only hears around 80. That's a one percent success ratio.
