The trial date for perjury charges against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been set for March 1, 2010.
The date was set by Judge Dennis M. Sweeney on Monday prior to the beginning of jury selection in the first trial for Dixon on charges she used gift cards intended for the poor for personal use.
Dixon appeared in the courtroom Monday morning accompanied by her attorneys and entered a plea of not guilty on the seven counts of theft. Judge Sweeney said he expected the jury selection process to take several days. The court recessed in the late morning so questionnaires filled out by potential jurors could be reviewed by attorneys from both sides. The court is expected to reconvene at 1 p.m., when jury selection will begin.
In March, Dixon will face five counts of perjury and misconduct based on gifts she received but did not report on her ethics disclosure form from politically connected developer Ronald Lipscomb. Dixon has proclaimed her innocence.
The case is currently on appeal; Dixon is appealing Sweeney's decision not to throw out the second set of charges.
Sweeney initially tossed the charges related to perjury and misconduct on the grounds that Dixon could not be prosecuted for actions taken as a legislator, a concept known as legislative immunity.
But after Lipscomb pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh persuaded a Baltimore City grand jury to indict the mayor again on the same charges.
—Stephen Janis
