By Basil Katz
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A New York appeals court has
agreed to hear a bid by former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat
Gupta to remain free on bail while he appeals his insider
trading conviction.
In a two-line order on Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in New York said it would hear oral arguments in the
case on Dec. 4.
Gupta, 63, was convicted in Manhattan federal court in June
for leaking Goldman Sachs boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam,
the hedge fund manager at the center of a U.S. government
crackdown on insider trading over the past four years.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff sentenced Gupta to two years
in prison in October, and ordered the Indian-born former global
head of the McKinsey & Co management consultancy to begin his
sentence on Jan. 8, 2013.
In court papers, Gupta's defense argued that he should not
have to surrender to prison until his appeal of his conviction
is resolved, which could last as long as two years.
Gupta argued he should remain free on his current $10
million bail. He contends he was wrongly convicted, that the
judge made errors at the trial and that he stands a chance of
prevailing in his appeal.
Gupta's briefs on appeal were submitted jointly by attorney
Seth Waxman of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and by Gary
Naftalis, who defended Gupta at trial.
U.S. prosecutors have urged the appeals court to deny
Gupta's request for a stay of his surrender date.
Rakoff, "to whom the bail application was initially
presented, correctly determined that Gupta had not identified a
substantial issue of law or fact that would likely result in
reversal of a conviction or a new trial," prosecutors said.
Rajaratnam is serving an 11-year prison sentence, one of the
longest for insider trading. The 2nd Circuit denied his bid to
remain free pending his appeal, which was argued on Oct. 25.
The case is USA v. Rajat Gupta, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, No 12-4448.
For Gupta: Gary Naftalis of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
and Seth Waxman of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
For the government: Reed Brodsky, Assistant U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York.
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook