US Supreme Court denies appeal from former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Kilpatrick convicted of rigging contracts, taking bribes

DETROIT – The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a request by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to overturn his corruption conviction and 28-year prison sentence.

The appeal was filed in January. The order denying it was issued Monday. 

Kilpatrick also previously appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but was denied in October.

After months of trial, a jury in 2013 found that Kilpatrick rigged contracts, took bribes and committed other corrupt acts, often with contractor Bobby Ferguson. Kilpatrick was doomed by his own text messages, which revealed efforts to fix deals for Ferguson.​

Kilpatrick's appeal centered on an alleged conflict among his trial attorneys, among other very technical reasons. He quit office in another scandal in 2008 and is federal prison.

Supreme Court document denying Kilpatrick's case by Clickon Detroit